George+Washington+Carver

media type="custom" key="29544621" align="right" George Washington Carver from State Historical Society of Missouri

Link also to a biography from the Chemical Heritage Foundation

Link to George Washington Carver: The Black History Monthiest of Them All, NPR Code Switch

Life Summary
George Washington Carver was born into slavery in 1864.
 * He was kidnapped along with his sister and mother from the Carver farm when he was only a few weeks old. They were sold at auction in Kentucky, but a Carver family friend found George and returned him to the Carver farm.

After the Civil War, the Carver family adopted and educated George and his brother. After graduating from high school, he was accepted into Highland College in Kansas. The college rescinded his acceptance when they learned he was black. At Tuskegee, he did research on crop rotation and alternative cash crops. These methods helped the struggling African American sharecroppers.
 * He ended up attending Iowa State Agricultural College, where he was the first black student. He received a bachelor and masters degree in botany.
 * After graduation, he was hired by Booker T. Washington to teach at Tuskegee.

Carver also did a lot of research on peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes, and pecans. >
 * Carver also researched plastics, paints, dyes, and a special kind of gasoline.
 * He proposed that Congress create a tariff on imported peanuts, which they did. Carver spent a lot of time raising awareness for agriculture, racial equality, and the achievements of Tuskegee.

[[image:primary_sources.PNG]]Primary Sources
George Washington Carver Image Set, Library of Congress

Tuskegee Institute Image Set



Carver's Legacy as the Peanut Man
Carver is credited with inventing about 300 products from peanuts


 * 16 Surprising Facts**


 * Crop Rotation and the Peanut**


 * George Washington Carver Cared About Sustainable Farming Before It Was Cool**

[[image:Screen Shot 2017-02-24 at 12.30.24 PM.png]]Lesson Plans
Scientist, Inventor and Teacher, PBS Learning Media

His Story Through Letters and Photographs,

Link to page on Global Seed Bank and Global Food Histories