Madeline Corderman

George Washington Carver was a famous scientist and inventor born in Diamond, Missouri. His discoveries helped solve problems with crop quality and crop uses. He was born around 1864, but the exact date is not known. Carver was born as a slave. His last name came from the farmer who owned his mother. His father, who was a slave too, died before Carver was born. When Carver was young, he, his sister, and his mother were taken by slave raiders. He had been resold in Kentucky but was brought back to Missouri. His sister and mother were never found. He was then taken care of by Susan and Moses Carver. Susan taught him and his brother James how to read and write because no schools accepted Black students at that time.

At age eleven, Carver went to a school for Black children in Neosho. He lived with a family who gave him a place to stay in exchange for helping with chores. He moved between different towns and went to many different schools. In 1880, he finished high school in Minneapolis, Kansas. He tried to apply to Highland College in Kansas but was rejected. He was later accepted into Simpson College in Iowa. Here he explored his interests in the arts by studying piano and painting pictures of plants. A professor named Etta Budd showed Carver the botany program at Iowa State University. He was accepted into the program and became the first Black student at that school. He finished his science degree in 1894 and later earned a master’s degree. Booker T. Washington, an educator, hired Carver to teach for the Tuskegee Institute agriculture department.

Carver created crop rotation after noticing that cotton production harmed the soil quality of the South. He suggested planting other crops like sweet potatoes, soybeans, and peanuts. One of his other major discoveries was the many uses for peanuts, such as putting them in food, drinks, and medicines. In total, he found over 300 uses for peanuts! He also published a bulletin called “The Experimentation Station” to share farming, gardening, and cooking tips. He continued teaching and helping people until he passed away on January 5, 1943.