Research Catalog

Title

George Washington Carver collection, 1932-1941.

Author

Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943.

Description

.2 lin. ft.

Summary

This collection consists of biographical material, programs, catalogs, printed material about Carver, plant specimens, and correspondence. Most of the correspondence is between Carver and Ford Davis, a white scientist employed at the Tom Houston Peanut Company in Georgia. In their letters, they discuss Carver's health problems, aspirations, and plans, and lament the fact that Carver's being Black prevents him and Davis from working together as fellow scientists.

Subject

• Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943
• Davis, Ford
• Agriculture > Research > United States
• Peanuts > Breeding
• African Americans > Segregation
• Discrimination in employment > Georgia > Columbia
• African American scientists

Note

• Photograph transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.

Source (note)

• Brown, C. B.

Biography (note)

• George Washington Carver was an agricultural research scientist. Born in 1864, Carver received a bachelor's degree in agriculture from State Agricultural College, Ames, IA (1894), and a master's degree from Iowa State College. In 1896, he was appointed Agriculture Director of Tuskegee University (1896). In 1916, Carver was named a Fellow of the London Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. He was the recipient of the Spingarn Medal for Distinguished Service to Science in 1923, and he received an honorary degree from Simpson College in 1928. In 1935, Carver was appointed as a collaborator in the USDA's Mycology and Plant Disease Survey. Carver died in 1943. As a botany and agriculture teacher to the children of ex-slaves, he wanted to improve their lot as farmers. Unlike other agricultural researchers of his time, Carver saw the need to devise practical farming methods; he wanted to steer these future farmers away from cotton to such soil-enhancing, protein-rich crops as soybeans and peanuts and to teach them self-sufficiency and conservation. Carver achieved this goal through an innovative series of free, simply-written brochures that included information on crops, cultivation techniques, and recipes for nutritious meals. He also urged the farmers to submit samples of their soil and water for analysis and taught them livestock care and food preservation techniques. Carver's work also resulted in the creation of more than 300 products from peanuts and more than 100 uses for the sweet potato and a variety of Southern plants, contributing greatly to the economic improvement of the rural South.

Processing Action (note)

• Surveyed
• Accessioned
• Cataloging updated

Call Number

Sc MG 256

OCLC

NYPW89-A55

Author

Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943.

Title

George Washington Carver collection, 1932-1941.

Biography

George Washington Carver was an agricultural research scientist. Born in 1864, Carver received a bachelor's degree in agriculture from State Agricultural College, Ames, IA (1894), and a master's degree from Iowa State College. In 1896, he was appointed Agriculture Director of Tuskegee University (1896). In 1916, Carver was named a Fellow of the London Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. He was the recipient of the Spingarn Medal for Distinguished Service to Science in 1923, and he received an honorary degree from Simpson College in 1928. In 1935, Carver was appointed as a collaborator in the USDA's Mycology and Plant Disease Survey. Carver died in 1943. As a botany and agriculture teacher to the children of ex-slaves, he wanted to improve their lot as farmers. Unlike other agricultural researchers of his time, Carver saw the need to devise practical farming methods; he wanted to steer these future farmers away from cotton to such soil-enhancing, protein-rich crops as soybeans and peanuts and to teach them self-sufficiency and conservation. Carver achieved this goal through an innovative series of free, simply-written brochures that included information on crops, cultivation techniques, and recipes for nutritious meals. He also urged the farmers to submit samples of their soil and water for analysis and taught them livestock care and food preservation techniques. Carver's work also resulted in the creation of more than 300 products from peanuts and more than 100 uses for the sweet potato and a variety of Southern plants, contributing greatly to the economic improvement of the rural South.

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Finding Aid

Added Author

Carver, George Washington, 1864?-1943.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 256