When was washington carver born

George never saw them again. After slavery was abolished, George was raised by Moses Carver and his wife. He worked on their farm and in their garden, and became curious about plants, soils, and fertilizers. When he was about 13, he left to attend school and worked hard to get his education. In , Booker T. Washington offered him a teaching position at Tuskegee Institute, a college for African Americans.

He made agricultural advancements to help improve the lives of poor Black farmers like himself. With the help of his mobile classroom, the Jesup Wagon, he brought his lessons to former enslaved farmworkers and used showmanship to educate and entertain people about agriculture. On January 5, , Carver died after falling down some stairs. But his contributions to the field of agriculture would not be forgotten. The primary crop in the South was cotton, which severely depleted soil nutrients, but by rotating crops—alternating cotton with soil-enriching crops like legumes and sweet potatoes—farmers could ultimately increase their cotton yield for a plot of land.

And crop rotation was cheaper than commercial fertilization. But what to do with all the sweet potatoes and peanuts? From peanuts alone he developed hundreds of new products, thus creating a market for this inexpensive, soil-enriching legume. In Carver famously spoke before the House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the nascent peanut industry to secure tariff protection and was thereafter known as the Peanut Man.

When he first arrived at Tuskegee in , the peanut was not even a recognized U. Both peanuts and sweet potatoes were slowly incorporated into Southern cooking, and today the peanut especially is ubiquitous in the American diet. Carver also developed traveling schools and other outreach programs to educate farmers. He published popular bulletins, distributed to farmers for free, that reported on his research at the Agricultural Experiment Station and its applications.

Through chemistry and conviction Carver revolutionized Southern agriculture and raised the standard of living of his fellow man. In addition to the popular honor of being one of the most recognized names in African American history, Carver received the Spingarn Medal and was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Insecticides, glue, charcoal, rubber, nitroglycerine, plastics and axle grease are just a few of the many valuable peanut products discovered by Dr.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were a few of his many fans. His humanitarian efforts were well documented and he received much recognition for his selfless acts to help others.

George Washington Carver died on January 5, , and is buried on the campus at Tuskegee. Carver contributed his entire life savings to establish a research institute at Tuskegee. Upon his death, Franklin D. The things which he achieved in the face of early handicaps will for all time afford an inspiring example to youth everywhere. The National Park Service is dedicated to preserving the legacy of Dr.

George Washington Carver. You can visit the park and his monument in Missouri. George Washington Carver is in the spotlight. Photo credit: Johnston, F. Outstanding Career In , he received a request from Booker T. Lasting Legacy Dr.