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Quick Facts
Best Known For
George Washington Carver was a prominent African-American scientist and inventor. Carver is best known for the many uses he devised for the peanut.
Videos see all videos
George Washington Carver - The Peanut Doctor
Watch a short video about George Washington Carver and his life as a pioneering African-American scientist.
George Washington Carver - Mini Biography
A short biography of George Washington Carver who was offered a horticultural position by Booker T. Washington at the Tuskegee Institute and went on to discovering countless uses for the peanut and other important crops.
Charles Darwin - The Shocking Book
At age 50 Darwin revealed the theory of evolution in the Origin of Species.
Albert Einstein - Scientific Hero
Albert Einstein's vision and innovation created a lasting impact on both the world of science and our society. Click "buy Now" to learn more about the authorized Albert Einstein Archives. Video courtesy of Open Road Media.
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Play NowGeorge Washington Carver. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:12, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299.
George Washington Carver. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"George Washington Carver." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 05:12 http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299.
"George Washington Carver," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"George Washington Carver," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
George Washington Carver [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299.
George Washington Carver, http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
George Washington Carver. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
George Washington Carver was born into slavery in Diamond, Missouri, around 1864. The exact year and date of his birth are unknown. Carver went on to become one of the most prominent scientists and inventors of his time, as well as a teacher at the Tuskegee Institute. Carver devised over 100 products using one of these crops—the peanut—including dyes, plastics and gasoline. He died in 1943.
Quotes
"When our thoughts—which bring actions—are filled with hate against anyone, Negro or white, we are in a living hell. That is as real as hell will ever be."
"It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."
"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting system, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."
"When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world."
"Look about you. Take hold of the things that are here. Let them talk to you. You learn to talk to them."
"Fear of something is at the root of hate for others and hate within will eventually destroy the hater. Keep your thoughts free from hate, and you need have no fear from those who hate you."
"While hate for our fellow man puts us in a living hell, holding good thoughts for them brings us an opposite state of living, one of happiness, success, peace. We are then in heaven."
"[I]nstead of growing morose and despondent over opportunities either real or imaginary that are shut from us, let us rejoice at the many unexplored fields in which there is unlimited fame and fortune to the successful explorer and upon which there is no color line; simply survival of the fittest."
"Our creator is the same and never changes despite the names given Him by people here and in all parts of the world. Even if we gave Him no name at all, He would still be there, within us, waiting to give us good on this earth."
"Nature study is agriculture, and agriculture is nature study--if properly taught."
"More and more as we come closer and closer in touch with nature and its teachings are we able to see the Divine and are therefore fitted to interpret correctly the various languages spoken by all forms of nature about us."
"As I worked on projects which fulfilled a real human need forces were working through me which amazed me. I would often go to sleep with an apparently insoluble problem. When I woke the answer was there."
"We get closer to God as we get more intimately and understandingly acquainted with the things he has created. I know of nothing more inspiring than that of making discoveries for ones self."
"[A] great teacher, a great lecturer, a great inspirer of young men and old men."
Early Years
George Washington Carver was one of many children born to Mary and Giles, an enslaved couple owned by Moses Carver. He was born during the Civil War years, most likely in 1864. A week after his birth, George was kidnapped along with his sister and mother from the Carver farm by raiders from the neighboring state of Arkansas. The three were sold in Kentucky, and among them only the infant George was located by an agent of Moses Carver and returned to Missouri.
The conclusion of the Civil War in 1865 brought the end of slavery in Missouri. Moses Carver and his wife, Susan, decided to keep George and his brother James at their home after that time, raising and educating the two boys. Susan Carver taught George to read and write, since no local school would accept black students at the time.
The search for knowledge would remain a driving force for the rest of George’s life. As a young man, he left the Carver home to travel to a school for black children 10 miles away. It was at this point that the boy, who had always identified himself as “Carver’s George” first came to be known as “George Carver.” Carver attended a series of schools before receiving his diploma at Minneapolis High School in Minneapolis, Kansas.
Accepted to Highland College in Highland, Kansas, Carver was denied admittance once college administrators learned of his race. Instead of attending classes, he homesteaded a claim, where he conducted biological experiments and compiled a geological collection. While interested in science, Carver was also interested in the arts. In 1890, he began studying art and music at Simpson College in Iowa, developing his painting and drawing skills through sketches of botanical samples. His obvious aptitude for drawing the natural world prompted a teacher to suggest that Carver enroll in the botany program at the Iowa State Agricultural College. Carver moved to Ames and began his botanical studies the following year as the first black student at Iowa State.
George Washington Carver excelled in his studies. Upon completion of his Bachelor of Science degree, Carver’s professors Joseph Budd and Louis Pammel persuaded him to stay on for a master’s degree. His graduate studies included intensive work in plant pathology at the Iowa Experiment Station. In these years, Carver established his reputation as a brilliant botanist and began the work that he would pursue for the remainder of his career.
Tuskegee Institute
After graduating from Iowa State, Carver embarked on a career of teaching and research.
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Famous Black Inventors
View groupThey are among history's most revered black inventors, known for their relentless inquisition, passionate research, impeccable design and, most importantly, their desire to push the envelope. Some of the world's greatest technological and social advancements, including the modern-day gas mask, light bulb and traffic light, owe their origins to black inventors. Did you know that George Washington Carver developed more than 100 products using peanuts? Or that Madam C.J. Walker was the first American woman to become a self-made millionaire? Learn more about these inventors, as well as Lonnie G. Johnson, Garrett Morgan, Patricia Bath, Percy Julian and more, at Biography.com.
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Famous Black Scientists
View groupWhen it comes to famous black scientists, George Washington Carver, Mae C. Jemison, and Neil Degrasse Tyson probably come to mind. But do you know about Otis Boykin and how he's helped old hearts beat a little better? And how about Garrett Morgan, whose inventions have kept hair straighter, clothes fitter, and traffic more efficient? Learn more about these famous black scientists and more.
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