George Washington Carver was born enslaved around the year 1864 in Diamond, Missouri during the Civil War. A week after his birth, he was kidnapped and taken into the state of Arkansas. Along with his siblings, the three were later sold in Kentucky. Out of all three of the children, only young Carver was spotted by an agent and returned to his farm in Missouri.
Carver's thirst for knowledge would prove to be a driving force in his life. He attended a series of schools before finally obtaining his high school diploma in Minneapolis High School in Minneapolis, Kansas. Carver was accepted to Highland College but was denied once administrators learned of his race. Instead of feeling defeated, he continued his studies by himself. He conducted numerous biological experiments and geological experiments.
Carver was soon hired as the head of the agricultural department for the Tuskegee Institute (now known as Tuskegee University) where he would teach budding botanists how to when their knowledge. Some of his research included the study of crop rotation, the practice in which you switch out plants to help the soil regenerate its lost nutrients. He also helped combat the rampant boll weevil infestations that plagued the South in the 1890s.
Carver's work at the Tuskegee Institute included groundbreaking discoveries involving vegetables such as peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans, and pecans. At the time, cotton production in the south was declining due to the overuse of fields. Carver suggested that peanuts be grown because they restore nitrogen to the soil.
Carver was a very thrifty man who created many marvelous inventions. He died on January 5th, 1943.
George Washington Carver:
Sources: https://www.biography.com/scientist/george-washington-carver
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be respectful. Think to yourself, "Would I say this to a child?"