George Washington Carver

American botanist, naturalist, chemist; one of the most brilliant researchers in history. From slave parents, his mother was owned by Moses Carver, and, after the Civil War, all Carver's slaves disappaeared except for a sick, motherless child named George. Nursed back to health, he learned to draw , developing a keen interest in plants and landscapes. When he was a young lad of 10 or 12, he left the plantation to acquire an education, but alwayas working with his hands to support himself. A Kansas university refused to admit him because he was black, but Carver ultimated eared a B.S. from Iowa State Agricultural College and an M.S. in agriculture, 1896. In 1896 he moved to Alabama to direct the newly organized department of agriculture at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, headed by Booker T. Washington. Carver remained there for the rest of his life, devoting his time to the researching projects that would improve Southern agriculture and farmers' econominc situations. He urged farmers to plant other crops in addition to cotton, including peanuts and sweet potatoes, and helped to create markets for these plants. From his studies of the peanut, he made more than 300 products. Carver died in 1943. Link to Wikipedia biography