Carver, George Washington (1860-1943)

US agricultural chemist George Washington Carver, in a laboratory. The photograph dates from the 1930s. Carver was born a slave in Missouri, in 1860. He improved the economy of the southern states by study of crop rotation, and, among other pioneering agricultural improvements, developed over 300 uses for peanuts.

US agricultural chemist. He devoted his life to improving the economy of the US South and the condition of African-Americans. He advocated the diversification of crops, promoted peanut production, and was a pioneer in the field of plastics.

At the Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, Carver demonstrated the need for crop rotation and the use of leguminous plants, especially the peanut. Following his advice, farmers were soon making more money from the peanut and its 325 by-products (including milk, cheese, face powder, printer's ink, shampoo, and dyes) which were developed by Carver, than from tobacco and cotton.

Carver was honoured as one of America's most influential and innovative agronomists.

Born a slave in Missouri, he was kidnapped and raised by his former owner, Moses Carver. He won a scholarship to Highland University, Kansas, but was then rejected on account of his race. Instead he graduated from Iowa Agricultural College, where he began teaching agriculture and bacterial botany as well as conducting experiments into plant pathology. In 1897 he transferred to the Tuskegee Institute, becoming director of agriculture and of a research station.

Carver made peanuts the principal crop in the farming belt running from Montgomery to the Florida border. He also discovered 118 products which could be made from the sweet potato and 75 products from the pecan nut. Carver's other work included developing a plastic material from soybeans which Henry Ford later used in part of his automobile, and extracting dyes and paints from the clays of Alabama.