Dr. George Washington Carver
Agricultural Scientist
1861 - 1943
- Born near Diamond, Missouri circa 1861.
- He spent most of his early years working with plants because he was too sickly to work in the fields.
- He left the Carver farm at the age of 10 to attend school in Kansas City; when he finished high school he was refused entry into Highland
University because he was black.
- He persisted mightily in pursuing an education and at the age of 30, George was accepted at Simpson College. He supported himself by
ironing clothes for fellow students.
- After a year at Simpson College he was accepted at what is now Iowa State University and was so exceptional as a student that he was
made an instructor. Within two years, he received his Master's degree.
- In 1896, he accepted a teaching position at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
- In 1942, he was awarded the NAACP Spingarn Medal for outstanding achievement by a Black American.
- He developed a system of crop rotation, and developed over 300 uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans and other agricultural
products. he received dozens of awards for his work.
- George Washington Carver never married and devoted his life savings to science.
- Dr. Carver died on January 5, 1943 of anemia at Tuskegee Institute.
- The First Commemorative Stamp was issued on January 5, 1948 at 9:00 a.m. in Dr. Carver's honor by the U.S. Postal Service.
- In 1973, Dr. George Washington Carver was the second Black American elected to the New York University Hall of Fame.
- Dr. George Washington Carver is recognized as one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known.