Born near Diamond Grove, Missouri, probably in 1864 but possibly as early as 1861. Youngest of 1 sister, 2 brothers. Slave father Giles died before birth. Slave mother Mary kidnapped during George's infancy. Raised by Moses and Susan Carver. As youth attended African Methodist and Presbyterian churches. Childhood distinctions: ingenious, restless. Never married. 1874 had mystical experience with pocketknife. 1875 moved to Neosho to begin school. 1877 moved to Fort Scott, Kansas. 1879 left Fort Scott after black man lynched. 1880 lived Minneapolis, Kansas, through high school. 1885 refused admission by Highland College. 1886 homesteaded in Ness County, Kansas. 1890 abandoned homestead, entered Simpson College (Iowa). 1891 entered Iowa State. 1892 won awards for painting. 1893 first scientific paper: 'Grafting the Cacti'. 1894 graduated college. 1896 Master's Degree Botany (Iowa State), accepted position Tuskegee Institute (Alabama). 1903 began classic studies on peanut. 1906 started 'Jesup Agricultural Wagon'. 1915 Booker T. Washington died. 1916 international recognition (Royal Fellow of Britain). 1921 dazzled U.S. Congress with presentation on peanuts. 1923 Springarn Medal. 1924 lambasted by liberal papers for religious beliefs. 1930's as national figure broke color barrier by speaking in many southern white colleges. 1938 health began to fail. 1939 opened his Tuskegee museum. 1942 fall worsened health. Died January 5, 1943, in Tuskegee, where he is buried.

          Go to anecdotes on George Washington Carver's...                               
                                                                Humanity
                                                                Wart (or flaw)
                                                                Failure
                                                                Defining Moment

         Go to this page to learn five values that made him a hero of history.

         Go to this page to find links to other websites about this hero.

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BY GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER:
Kremer, G. R. (ed.), George Washington Carver: In His Own Words. Columbia:        PB
     Univ. of Missouri Press, 1987.
          Many scientific publications exist but may be difficult to find.
1893 'Grafting the Cacti', in Transactions Iowa Horticulture Society.
1894 'Best Bulbs for the Amateur', in Transactions Iowa Horticulture Society.
1894 'Plants modified by man', Senior thesis Iowa State university.
1895 (with L. H. Pammel) 'Fungus Diseases of Plants at Ames, Iowa,' Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science.
          Among his 44 years of Tuskegee Institute Experimental Station papers are the following:
1898 Bulletin 1: Feeding Acorns.
1898 Bulletin 2: Experiments with Sweet Potatoes.
1901 Bulletin 3: Fertilizer Experiments with Cotton.
1902 Bulletin 4: Some Cercosporae of Macon County, Alabama.
1903 Bulletin 5: Cow Peas.
1905 Bulletin 6: How to Build Up Worn Out Soils.
1906 Bulletin 8: Successful Yields of Small Grains.
1906 Bulletin 10: Saving the Sweet Potato.
1907 Bulletin 12: Saving the Wild Plum Crop.
1909 Bulletin 16: Some Ornamental Plants of Macon County, Alabama.
1910 Bulletin 18: Nature Study and Gardening for Rural Schools.
1911 Bulletin 21: White and Color Washing with Native Clays from Macon County, Alabama.
1912 Bulletin 24: The Pickling and Curing of Meat in Hot Weather.
1913 Bulletin 25: A Study of the Soils of Macon County...and Their Adaptability to Certain Crops.
1915 Bulletin 27: When, What and How to Can and Preserve Fruits and Vegetables in the Home.
1916 Bulletin 31: How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing It for Human
                Consumption.
1916 Bulletin 32: Three Delicious Meals Every Day for the Farmer.
1917 Bulletin 33: Twelve Ways to Meet the New Economic Conditions Here in the South.
1918 Bulletin 36: How to Grow the Tomato and 115 Ways to Prepare It for the Table.
1918 Bulletin 37: How to Make Sweet Potato Flour, Starch, Sugar, Bread and Mock Cocoanut.
1927 Bulletin 39: How to Make nd Save Money on the Farm.
1935 Bulletin 40: The Raising of Hogs, One of the Best Ways to Fill the Empty Dinner Pail.
1936 Bulletin 41: Can Livestock Be Raised Profitably in Alabama?
1936 Bulletin 42: How to Build Up and Maintain the Virgin Fertility of Our Soils.
1942 Bulletin 43: Nature's Garden for Victory and Peace.
          Many articles (especially on peanuts) are in Peanut Journal and similar trade journals.

ABOUT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER:
Burchard, Peter, George Washington Carver: A Great Soul. Serpent Wise, 1998.        PB
Burchard, Peter, large George Washington Carver (major biography not yet published).
Calhoun, William G. (ed.), Fort Scott: A Pictorial History.Bourbon County                  PB
     Historic Preservation Assoc., 1978.             
Centennial Committee, History of Ottawa County, Kansas, 1864-1984. 
     Centennial Committee, 1984.
Clark, Glenn, The Man Who Talks With Flowers: the  Life Story of Dr. George
     Washington Carver. Macalester Pub., 1939.
Dick, Everett, The Sod-house Frontier, 1854-1890.  New York:D. Appleton-Century    PB
     Company, 1937. 
Elliott, Lawrence, George Washington Carver: The Man Who Overcame.                        PB
     Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. 
Holt, Rackham, George Washington Carver: An American Biography. New York:      PB
     Doubleday and Co., 1943.
Johnston, Sir Harry, The Negro in the New World, 1910.
Lupton, Frank, Farmer's & Housekeeper's Cyclopaedia, 1888. New York: F. M.          PB
     Lupton, 1888. Reprint Crossing Press, 1977.
McMurry, Linda O., George Washington Carver: Scientist and Symbol. New York:    PB
     Oxford University Press, 1981.
Millbrook, Minnie D., History of Ness, Western County, Kansas. Detroit, 1955.
Miner, Craig, West of Wichita: Settling the High Plains of Kansas, 1865-1890.            PB
     Univ. Press of Kansas, 1986.
Perry, John, Unshakable Faith: Booker T. Washington and George Washington      HC
     Carver, a Biography. Multnomah, 1999.
Reude, Howard, Sod-house Days: letters from a Kansas homesteader, 1877-78.          HC
     Columbia Un. Press, 1937.
Smith, Alvin D., George Washington Carver: Man of God. NewYork: Exposition
     Press, 1954.
Toogood, Anna C., Historic Resource Study and Administrative History, George
     Washington Carver National Monument, Diamond, Missouri. Denver, 1973.
Trexler, Harrison A., Slavery in Missouri, 1804-1865. AMS Press, 1982.                          HC
Wallace, Henry A., The Reminiscences of Henry Wallace.                                                      PB
Washington, Booker T., My Larger Education.  New York: Doubleday, 1911                  PB
     Company, Inc., 1911.
Washington, Booker T., Up From Slavery.  New York: Doubleday, 1900.            HC      PB
Wellman, Sam. George Washington Carver. Barbour, 1998.                                    HC      PB
Winters, Donald L., Henry Cantwell Wallace, as Secretary of Agriculture,                   PB
     1921-1924.
Yearbook of Agriculture, After A Hundred Years.  Washington, D.C.: U. S. Dept.
     Agriculture, 1962. 
         Many very significant first-hand sources remain unpublished:
Guzman, Jessie P., 'Investigative Trip Interview Notes', 1948 manuscript in GWC Papers
     at Tuskegee Institute Archives.
Fuller, Robert P. and Merrill J. Mattes, 'The Early Life of George Washington Carver', 1957
     manuscript in GWC Papers at Tuskegee Institute Archives.
Crisp, Lucy Cherry, 'Notes of Interview with George Washington Carver': manuscript  (undated
     but 1930's) in Lucy Cherry Crisp Papers in East Carolina MS Collection, Greenville, N. C..
Carver, George Washington, 'Written Responses to Questionaire by Crisp', undated manuscript
     in Lucy Cherry Crisp Papers in East Carolina MS Collection, Greenville, N. C..
Milholland, Mrs., 'Notes on George Washington Carver', undated manuscript in Lucy Cherry
     Crisp Papers in East Carolina MS Collection, Greenville, N. C..