George Washington Carver

1. George Washington Carver Creativity

2. Who was George Washington Carver? • Born: January 1864 in Diamond Grove, Missouri • Died: January 5, 1943 in Tuskegee, Alabama • Born a slave and became free as a child when slavery was abolished. • His slave owners raised him as their own child, teaching him to read and write.

3. His Education & Career George W. Carver working in his lab. • The 1st African American student at Iowa State College • After graduating with a master’s degree in agriculture and science, he became the first African American professor at Iowa State College. • He was invited to teach at an all-black college in Tuskegee, Alabama, where he taught agriculture and science for the rest of his life.

4. Crop Rotation • One of the main crops in the south. • Problem: Growing cotton year after year can remove nutrients from the soil and eventually, the cotton crop would grow weak. • Solution: Mr. Carver taught his students crop rotation. One year they would grow cotton, followed by other crops such as sweet potatoes. By rotating the crops the soil stayed enriched.

5. Boll Weevil • Insect • Problem #2: Eats cotton which destroyed the crops • Solution: Carver discovered the insect hates peanuts. • Problem #3: Farmers weren’t sure they could make money from peanuts. • Solution: Carver invented products from peanuts.

6. Peanuts, Sweet Potatoes, and Pecans More than 300 Products made from Peanuts More than 115 from Sweet Potatoes and 75 from Pecans Flour Starch Bleach Buttermilk Instant Coffee Mayonnaise Paper Chili Sauce Shaving Cream Shoe Polish Sugar • Cooking oil • Dyes for clothing • Plastics • Fuel for cars • Peanut butter • Cheese • Milk • Facial Cream • Ink • Shampoo • Soap