George Washington Carver
1864-1943

Following his graduation in 1894 from Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now Iowa State University), Carver joined the college faculty and continued his studies, specializing in bacteriological laboratory work in systematic botany. In 1896 he became director of the Department of Agricultural Research at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University), where he began an exhaustive series of experiments with peanuts. Carver developed several hundred industrial uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans and developed a new type of cotton known as Carver's hybrid. His discoveries induced southern farmers to raise other crops in addition to cotton. He also taught methods of soil
improvement. 

In recognition of his accomplishments, Carver was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1923 by the National Association for the  Advancement of Colored People. In 1935 he was appointed collaborator in the Division of Plant Mycology and Disease Survey of the Bureau of Plant Industry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In  1940 he donated all his savings to the establishment of the George Washington Carver Foundation at Tuskegee for research in natural science. Carver died at Tuskegee, on Jan. 5, 1943. His birthplace
was established as the George Washington Carver National Monument in 1951.