African-American Inventors

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was born in 1864 in Diamond Grove, Missouri.  He attended elementary school in Newton County and attended Minneapolis High School in Kansas.  Although it was a struggle for him because of racial barriers, he was accepted at Simpson College (the first African-American student accepted) in Indianola, Iowa.  Because was intent on becoming scientist, he transferred to Iowa Agricultural College (now called Iowa State University) in 1891.

After gaining his B.S. in 1894 and an M.S. in agriculture and botany in 1897, Carver was hired as faculty at Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanics.   He was the First African-American ever hired as a faculty member there.

He is one of the most important inventors of our time.  He did not invent the television or a vehicle to propel us to the moon, but he did discover over 300 uses for the peanut.  Many of the by-products are invaluable to us today.  He also invented hundreds more uses for soybean, pecans, and sweet potatoes.

Although he was granted only three patents, his contributions are no less monumental.  Many of the products we use today are as a direct result of the ingenuity of Dr. Carver.  His inventions and discoveries include Adhesives, Axle Grease, Bleach, Buttermilk,
Chili Sauce, Fuel Briquettes, Ink, Instant Coffee, Linoleum,
Mayonnaise, Meat Tenderizer, Metal Polish, Paper, Plastic,
Pavement, Shaving Cream, Shoe Polish, Synthetic Rubber, Talcum
Powder, and Wood Stain.  Anyone would be hard pressed to imagine living through one day without any of these items.

Point to the frame below to see and hear a video of Dr. Carver's work.

The founder of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes, Booker T. Washington, invited Carver to come move south and serve as the school's director of agriculture.  At Tuskegee, Carver developed his crop rotation method at a time when America's economy was heavily dependant on agriculture.

Years of cotton farming and civil war had depleted to southern soil of much of its nutrients.  carver convinced the farmers to incorporate his suggestions for crop rotation to help the soil recover.  George Washington Carver died in 1943.