George Washington Carver | |
|---|---|
 George Washington Carver c. 1910 | |
| Born | c. January 1, 1864 Diamond, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 5, 1943 (aged 78–79) Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S. |
| Resting place | Tuskegee University |
| Education | Iowa State University (BA, MSc) |
| Awards | Spingarn Medal (1923) |
| Signature | |
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George Washington Carver (c. 1864[1] – January 5, 1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion.[2] He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century.
While a professor at Tuskegee Institute, Carver developed techniques to improve types of soils depleted by repeated plantings of cotton. He wanted poor farmers to grow other crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, as a source of their own food and to improve their quality of life.[3] Under his leadership, the Experiment Station at Tuskegee published over forty practical bulletins for farmers, many written by him, which included recipes; many of the bulletins contained advice for poor farmers, including combating soil depletion with limited financial means, producing bigger crops, and preserving food.
Apart from his work to improve the lives of farmers, Carver was also a leader in promoting environmentalism.[4] He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP. In an era of high racial polarization, his fame reached beyond the black community. He was widely recognized and praised in the white community for his many achievements and talents. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a "Black Leonardo".[5]
Color film of Carver shot in 1937 at the Tuskegee Institute by African American surgeon Allen Alexander was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2019.[6][7] The 12 minutes of footage includes Carver in his apartment, office and laboratory, as well as images of him tending flowers and displaying his paintings.
- ^ "About GWC: A Tour of His Life". George Washington Carver National Monument. National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008.
George Washington Carver did not know the exact date of his birth, but he thought it was in January 1864 (some evidence indicates July 1861, but not conclusively). He knew it was sometime before slavery was abolished in Missouri, which occurred in January 1865.
- ^ "George Washington Carver". Live Science. December 7, 2013. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Macintosh, Barry (August 1977). "George Washington Carver and the Peanut". American Heritage Magazine. 28 (5).
- ^ Mark D. Hersey (2011), My Work Is That of Conservation: An Environmental Biography of George Washington Carver Archived 2020-10-23 at the Wayback Machine, University of Georgia Press, ISBN 978-0820338705.
- ^ "Black Leonardo Book". Time. November 24, 1941. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
- ^ "Women Rule 2019 National Film Registry". Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2020.