Page 86 - (DK) How to be a GENIUS?

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Carver did not know the year or date of his birth, George
arver
rve
a
i
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wa
was
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er
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ve
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which
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k
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so he never knew which day was his birthday.
d
s o h e never knew wh i c h day w s his birthd a y .
a
Washington
Carver
An African American born in the South before the
abolition of slavery, George Washington Carver fought
Carver would have lived in a house like this during his
early childhood. He knew exactly what it was like to be poor. racism to become a respected scientist, educator, and
inventor. His main interest was agriculture, especially
promoting crops that poor farmers could grow for food
Determined student and other purposes. In the process he improved the
Carver was named after his slave owner, Moses lives of people often too poor to help themselves. His
Carver, who raised the orphan as his own child
after abolition. Eventually, George got a place achievements helped undermine racial prejudice and
in school and later went to college. At first blazed a trail for other African Americans to follow.
he studied art and music, but in 1891, he
transferred to Iowa State Agricultural College,
where he was the first black student.
C a rv er o n c e s a i d “ “ Wh e n y o u c a n
Carver once said,, When you can
y
rv
ver
Wh
rve
do the common things of life in an
fe
d o t h e c o m m o n t h i n g s o f l i fe i n a n
n
m
o
o
m
a
c
n
o
u
y
y
,
w
i
l
c
l
u
m
m
uncommon way, you will command d
wa
w
n
o
tt
wo
t h e a tt e n t i o n o f t h e wo rl d . ” ”
tt
rl
the attention of the world.
Peanuts and
potatoes
Carver wanted to improve
the lives of poor farmers whose
land was exhausted by the
relentless planting of cotton—
the main cash crop of the
region. He advised his students
In the early 1900s, Carver’s laboratory at Tuskegee was one of
to alternate cotton with other
the few places where black Americans could learn plant science.
potatoes. He also came up with
College teacher crops such as peanuts and sweet
In 1896, Carver was invited to lead the agriculture many uses for these crops,
department at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama— including dyes, paints, plastics,
a college founded for the education of ex-slaves. oil, and even explosives. He
He stayed at Tuskegee for 47 years, teaching the hoped this would enable his s
own
students farming techniques and ways of becoming students to make their ow
ying hem.
self-sufficient. The head of the institute called products instead of buying them m.
Carver “one of the most thoroughly scientific
men with whom I am acquainted.”
84
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.