GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER BECAME ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST 
         FAMOUS AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTS AND DREW WORLDWIDE 
         ATTENTION FOR DEVELOPING HUNDREDS OF FOOD AND INDUSTRIAL
         PRODUCTS FROM THE PEANUT AND THE SWEET POTATO.

         HE WAS BORN IN MISSOURI IN 1864 TO A SLAVE WOMAN DURING 
         THE CIVIL WAR BETWEEN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH. HIS 
         FATHER DIED IN AN ACCIDENT AND HIS MOTHER WAS KIDNAPPED 
         BY SLAVE CATCHERS. THE YOUNG SICKLY BABY WAS LEFT WITH
         HIS WHITE OWNERS, MOSES AND SUSAN CARVER, WHO RAISED 
         HIM.

         WHEN HE WAS 12 OR 13 YEARS OLD HE WAS A 
         NOTED SINGER AND ORGANIST WHO ALSO ENJOYED PAINTING 
         FLOWERS, PLANTS AND LANDSCAPES. 

         IN HIS LATE 20S, GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER RECEIVED A 
         HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA FROM A SCHOOL IN KANSAS THAT 
         ACCEPTED BLACK STUDENTS. THEN HE ATTENDED SIMPSON 
         COLLEGE IN IOWA WHERE HE STUDIED ART AND PIANO AND 
         LATER TRANSFERRED TO IOWA STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, 
         WHERE HE RECEIVED A MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE. 

         IN HIS EARLY 30S, GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER BECAME 
         DIRECTOR OF TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE'S NEW DEPARTMENT OF 
         AGRICULTURE IN ALABAMA. HE BELIEVED THAT BLACKS SHOULD 
         PURSUE THEIR GOALS OF EQUALITY THROUGH EDUCATION AND 
         ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RATHER THAN THROUGH POLITICAL 
         AGITATION. HE SPENT MOST OF HIS TIME RESEARCHING WAYS TO
         HELP BLACK AND WHITE SOUTHERN FARMERS IMPROVE THEIR 
         ECONOMIC SITUATION.

         WHEN HE ARRIVED AT TUSKEGEE IN THE LATE 1890S, THE SOUTH
         WAS EXCESSIVELY DEPENDENT ON COTTON FOR ITS EXISTENCE.  
         THE CROP, HOWEVER, HAD DEPLETED THE SOIL AND THREATENED 
         THE ECONOMY OF MUCH OF THE REGION. CARVER FOUND SOME 
         RELIEF FOR FARMERS BY DEVELOPING THE PEANUT, THE POTATO 
         AND THE SOYBEAN. HE WAS ESPECIALLY NOTED FOR HIS WORK 
         WITH PEANUTS AND DEVELOPED MORE THAN 300 PEANUT 
         DERIVATIVES, INCLUDING CHEESE, MILK, FLOUR, INKS, DYES, 
         PLASTICS AND MANY OTHER PRODUCTS. HE ALSO FOUND 
         MORE THAN A HUNDRED NEW PRODUCTS FROM THE SWEET POTATO, 
         SUCH AS VINEGAR, MOLASSES, SOAP, POSTAGE STAMP GLUE AND 
         RUBBER. FIFTY YEARS LATER, THE PEANUT HAD
         BECOME ONE OF THE SIX LEADING CROPS IN THE UNITED STATES
         AND IN THE SOUTH. 

         IN 1923, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE 
         ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE AWARDED HIM THE SPINGARN 
         MEDAL FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN THE FIELD OF 
         AGRICULTURE.  

         HIS SCIENTIFIC SUCCESSES DREW THE ATTENTION OF 
         OTHER INVENTORS SUCH AS THOMAS EDISON, WHO OFFERED HIM A
         HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO WORK FOR HIM, BUT CARVER 
         REFUSED. U-S PRESIDENTS CALVIN COOLIDGE AND FRANKLIN 
         ROOSEVELT VISITED HIM AT TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE. CARVER 
         ALSO HAD FRIENDSHIPS WITH HENRY FORD, THE CAR MAKER, AND
         MOHANDAS GANDHI, THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE LEADER. IN 
         1931, HE DECLINED AN OFFER BY JOSEPH STALIN TO GO TO 
         RUSSIA TO SUPERVISE COTTON PLANTATIONS THERE AND TOUR 
         THE COUNTRY.  

         GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER WAS A SMALL, SOFT SPOKEN, 
         RELIGIOUS MAN WITH A HUMBLE DEMEANOR, WHO BELIEVED THAT 
         GOD WAS A COLLABORATOR IN HIS LABORATORIES. HE TRIED TO 
         PROMOTE THE INTEREST OF BLACK AND WHITE PEOPLE. HIS 
         GREATEST DESIRE WAS SIMPLY TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF POOR 
         PEOPLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES.

         GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER DIED IN 1943 AND WAS BURIED AT 
         HIS BELOVED TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE IN ALABAMA, WHERE HE HAD 
         REVOLUTIONIZED AMERICAN SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE.

12-Feb-97
Source: Voice of America