George Washington Carver, an American educator and agricultural sciences innovator, was born near Diamond, Missouri to parents who were slaves. Nevertheless, he departed from his place of birth at the age of ten and subsequently relocated to Minneapolis, Kansas where he demonstrated determination and diligence in completing his high school education.
Carver graduated from Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now Iowa State University) in 1894 and then joined the college faculty. He focused on bacteriological laboratory work in systematic botany. In 1896, he became the director of the Department of Agricultural Research at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University). It was at this institute where Carver conducted a series of experiments involving peanuts, leading to numerous industrial applications for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. He also developed a new cotton variety known as Carver’s hybrid. His innovative discoveries not only encouraged southern farmers to diversify their crops beyond cotton but also taught techniques for improving soil quality.
George Washington Carver received the Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1923 to honor his accomplishments. In 1935, he joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry’s Division of Plant Mycology and Disease Survey as a collaborator. Carver selflessly created the George Washington Carver Foundation at Tuskegee University in 1940, using all his savings to support research in natural science. Sadly, on January 5, 1943, Carver passed away at Tuskegee University. As a result, his birthplace was later designated as the George Washington Carver National Monument during that same year.
