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“He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found
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From Idea to Innovation:
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An agricultural chemist, Carver masterminded the first crop rotation system that allowed farmers to sustain the richness of their soil and maximize their yield by alternating soil-depleting crops with soil-enriching ones. In addition, he invented hundreds of ways for Americans to use peanuts, soybeans and other products.
Carver turned down lucrative job offers to pursue research and chose to give his inventions away rather than profiting from the patents. He believed that God had given him his ideas and that he could not rightfully sell them to someone else.
Inventor In-depth:
Inventor Profile:
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| Lived: | 1864-1943 |
| Patent: | U.S. #1,522,176 Cosmetics and Producing the Same, issued January 6, 1925 U.S. #1,541,478 Paint and Stain and Producing the Same, issued June 9, 1926 U.S. #1,632,365 Paints and Stains and Producing the Same, issued June 14, 1927 Link to patten |
Born to slave parents near the end of the Civil War, George Washington Carver discovered a love for nature while growing up on a plantation owned by German immigrant Moses Carver near Diamond Grove, Missouri.
As a child, Carver and his mother were kidnapped by “bandits” and transported across state lines. He was rescued and adopted by Moses Carver and his wife Susan after the war ended but his mother was never found. His father’s identity is not known.
At age 12, Carver left the plantation he loved to pursue his education, first in a one-room Missouri schoolhouse and later at a high school in Minneapolis, Kansas. He faced tough racial barriers but his spirit and resolve to succeed remained firm.
Carver was the first black student accepted at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, but stayed only a short time before transferring to Iowa State University (known then as Iowa Agricultural College) in 1891. He was determined to pursue his love of science and agriculture. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in bacterial botany and agriculture and soon joined the staff becoming the University’s first black faculty member.
Later, at the invitation of Booker T. Washington, Carver joined Tuskegee University (known then as Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes) as director of Agriculture where he taught and pursue research until his death on January 5, 1943.
Carver’s contributions to our Country, especially to the American South, are immeasurable. He developed a system of crop rotation that allowed southern farmers to maintain the richness of their soil and maximize their yield by alternating soil-depleting crops such as cotton and tobacco with soil-enriching crops like soybeans, peanuts, peas, sweet potatoes and pecans.
He went on to educated farmers about the system and to develop hundreds of ways for Americans to use peanuts, soybeans and other new crops in foods and recipes, as well as to improve the effectiveness of everyday items such as bleach, adhesives, plastic, paper, axle grease, shoe polish, ink and wood stain.
Carver also produced 500 different shades of dye and invented a process for producing paints and stains from soybeans, which was one of the three patents he received during his lifetime.
However, Carver did not benefit from his patents. Instead he chose to give them away. He believed that God had given him the ideas and that he could not rightfully sell them to others. He reportedly turned down lucrative job offers to pursue his teaching and research.
To assure a continuation of his research work in natural and agricultural science after his death, Carver willed his life savings to Tuskegee for the establishment of the Carver Research Foundation.
Sources for this biography and other links for
learning more about George Washington Carver:
www.nps.gov for information on George Washington Carver click on “history and culture” and then on “museums & collections”. Carver is detailed in depth in the “Legends of Tuskegee” section.
Also visit the National Park Service website (nps.gov) for information on the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri maintained by the U.S Department of the Interior, National Parks Service
George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center at www.ci.austin.tx.us/carver
