A Scholar’s Profile of George Washington Carver

Abstract

Probably one of the most recognized names in agricultural research, George Washington Carver (ca. 1864-1943) overcame numerous obstacles to achieve a graduate education and gain international fame as an educator, inventor, and scientist. Carver was born near the end of the Civil War on the farm of Moses and Susan Carver in Diamond Grove, Missouri, and he and his brother, Jim, were raised by the Carvers after their biological mother, a slave on the farm, was captured by slave raiders. Neighbors quickly recognized Carver as an exceptional child with a gift for understanding the natural world around him.