Who was George Washington Carver?

1864 – 1943

Written by Dallas Duncan and Dr. Frank B. Flanders

Foundation Skills, Unit 10.8, FS-10 2010

A suggested unit of instruction for CTAE programs to help celebrate Black History Month

Why Study George Washington Carver?

George Washington Carver was a great scientist and teacher. He was a master of the applied sciences.

He is a great role model for Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education students who aspire to influence their areas of expertise, as Carver did in his field.

It is suggested that CTAE classes use the study of George Washington Carver’s life and contributions to help celebrate Black History Month.

Objectives: Students will be able to… Explain the adversity George Washington Carver

faced in his lifetime Discuss the early life and childhood of George

Washington Carver Outline the basics of George Washington Carver’s

education List products invented or improved by George

Washington Carver Discuss George Washington Carver’s teaching

philosophy List honors and awards George Washington

Carver received during his lifetime

Childhood

Born into Slavery Born around 1864 in

Diamond Grove, Missouri George Washington Carver,

his brother Jim, and his mother, Mary, were slaves

Owners were Moses and Susan Carver

George and Mary were kidnapped and taken to Arkansas — George was returned but Mary was never seen again Above: Carver’s birthplace, now part

of the George Washington Carver National Historic Site

Life in Diamond Grove

George and Jim were raised by Susan and Moses Spent a lot of time out in the woods cultivating

and “doctoring” plants George was sickly and spent time with Susan,

who taught him “womanly” skills George and Jim started at a white school

because there weren’t enough African American children to warrant a separate school in the town

The College Years

Left to Right: Simpson

College and an early

photograph of Iowa State Agricultural

College

EducationallySpeaking… George left Missouri at an early age to start a

college career 1890: George enrolled at Simpson College to

study piano and art, but had to withdraw because of his race

Transferred to Iowa State Agricultural College, where in 1894 he earned a Bachelor’s in Agriculture

1896: Earned a Master’s of Agriculture degree from Iowa State Agricultural College

Left: The Creamery

operators at Iowa State Agricultural

College; Carver is in

the back row

Self-Sufficiency

There were no real scholarships when George went to college, so he had to pay his own way through school

George worked doing laundry, cooking, and selling artwork to pay for collegeHe was such a good artist, one of his

paintings won Honorable Mention at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair

Left to Right: Painting was one way George Washington

Carver helped pay for his education

Teaching the Next Generation of Agriculturalists

Left: Faculty at Tuskegee Institute,

1902. George Washington Carver is

front and center.

Agricultural Educator by Choice 1894: Joined the faculty of Iowa State Agricultural College

1896: Recruited by Booker T. Washington to become the director of agriculture at both the Tuskegee Institute and the Tuskegee Agricultural Experiment Station Carver turned down a $100,000

job offer from Thomas Edison to go work at Tuskegee

1906: George and his students created the Jessup Wagon, which was driven around the state to bring information and demonstrations to Alabama farmers The Jessup Wagon inspired

the USDA extension service

Above: Carver teaches students

using skeletons of a cow and

calf; Right: The Jessup

Wagon

The Blossoming of a Career

Award-Winning Scientist

1916: Elected as Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in London

1923: Received the Springarn Medal for Distinguished Service to Science from the NAACP

1939: Received the Roosevelt Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Southern Agriculture

1941: Received the Award of Merit from the Variety Clubs of America

Can’t Stop Learning

Carver received several degrees after he finished college, but he never stopped learning!

1928: Received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Simpson College

1942: Received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Selma University

Carver as an Innovator

Carver created or improved over 400 products in his career, many of them derived from the peanut and sweet potatoes

He also made house paints from natural Alabama clays, which were used in various institutions in his home state

Above: Carver working in his lab to extract peanut milk

Some of Carver’s Innovations…Adhesives Face ointment Mock veal cutlet Rubber

Antiseptic soap Face powder Molasses Rubbing oils

Axle grease Flavoring paste Molasses feed Salad oil

Baby massage cream Flour Mucilage Sandwich vinegar

Bisque powder Fuel briquettes Nitroglycerine Shampoo

Bleach Glue Oleomargarine Shaving cream

Butter from peanut milk Glycerin Paints Shoe polish

Caramel salted peanuts Goiter treatment Pancake flour Sizing for walls

Castoria substitute Hand lotion Paper Soap

Cheese Ink Pavement Soil conditioner

Cheese pimento Insecticide Peanut brittle Stains

Chili sauce Instant coffee Peanut butter Sugar

Chocolate coated peanuts Insulating boards Peanut candy bars Sweeping compound

Chop suey sauce Iron tonic Peanut hay meal Synthetic marble

Cleanser for hands Laundry soap Peanut koumiss beverage Synthetic rubber

Cooking oil Laxatives Peanut meat loaf Talcum powder

Cosmetics Linoleum Peanut oil Tannic acid

Dyes Mayonnaise Peanut relish Tofu sauce

Emulsion for bronchitis Meal substitutes Peanut wafers Tutti frutti

Evaporated peanut beverage Meat tenderizer Plastics Washing powder

Face bleach Medicine Pomade for scalp Wood filler

Face cream Metal polish Pomade for skin Wood stain

Face lotion Mock chicken Postage stamp glue Worcestershire sauce

Carver’s Lasting Legacy

Left to Right: Bust of George

Washington Carver at Tuskegee

University; Entrance to George

Washington Carver National Monument; US Postage stamp honoring Carver

Contributions Outside the Lab

1921: Elected to appear and speak on behalf of the United Peanut Association at the US House Committee on Ways and Means’ meeting about the peanut tariff

1935: Appointed as collaborator of the Mycology and Plant Disease Survey for the USDA Bureau of Plant Industry

1939: Became an honorary member of the American Inventor’s Society

Permanent Reminders 1937: Tuskegee unveiled a bust of

George Washington Carver 1938: Hollywood released a movie based

on George’s life 1941: The George Washington Carver

Museum was dedicated at Tuskegee 1942: Missouri’s governor placed a

marker at George’s birthplace