George Washington Carver

(From Kids InfoBits, a Gale online resource that includes ReadSpeaker text-to-speech technology)

Born: c. 1860 in Diamond Grove, Missouri, United States
Died: January 5, 1943 in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States

Occupation: agriculturalist, chemist

Family: Never married or had children. Education: Graduated from Iowa State College with a bachelor's degree in agriculture in 1894, and a master's degree in science in 1896.

George Washington Carver is famous for his discovery of more than 300 products that can be made from the peanut. He also is well-known for developing different farming methods. Carver was the first African American accepted to Simpson College in Iowa.

Nobody knows for sure the exact date of George Washington Carver's birth. He was born a slave around 1860 in Missouri. Carver's mother died, but his master, Moses Carver, kept the baby and raised him. Young George was given his master's last name. Even after he was freed from slavery, he stayed on the farm. Some time between the ages of 10 and 12, he left to go to school.

Carver finished high school while in his twenties, working on a farm the whole time. The first college he applied to refused to let him in because he was African American. So he studied piano and art at Simpson College in Iowa. Then he transferred to Iowa State College. He earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural science and a master's degree in science.

Carver joined the department of agriculture at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute as a professor. He remained at the school for the rest of his life.

Carver became a director at the school in 1896. This job allowed him time to research projects that would help Southern farmers. He found ways to improve soil that was poor in nutrients. He encouraged crop rotation, which involves changing what crops you plant each year. This allows the soil to rest and renew. He also suggested that farmers plant crops like sweet potatoes, soybeans, and peanuts. These crops grow well even in bad soil, and actually make the soil better. Carver discovered 60 products that could be made from pecans and 300 products that could be made from peanuts. These products include food, plastics, and paint.

Carver received many awards for his research. He donated his life savings to the Carver Research Foundation at Tuskegee in 1940.