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George is born
George was born to his parents, Giles and Mary, in Missouri. His father was a slave for another farm while his mother, his brother, Jim, and himself were slaves of Susan and Moses Carver. -
Slave Raids
The Carvers got slave raided when George was a baby. His mother and George were taken while his brother was able to escape. Moses Carver got the police and they searched everywhere for the two. Baby George was found on the side of the rode, most likely because he had whooping cough, however his mother was never found and she was sold at a slave auction to the highest bidder. -
Early Education
After the Civil War, the Carvers kept George and Jim as their children since they had no parents. George wanted to go to school to learn but the closest school for blacks was ten miles away. George was determined to learn so he walked the ten miles every day there and back. -
The Start to a Religious Life
Mariah Watkins lived about a mile away from the school George was attending, so, she let George stay at her house if he did housework, did well in school, and went to church with her. Mrs. Watkins being very passionate about religion gave George his first bible which he kept with him for the rest of his life. After he eventually moved away, he continued going to church and praying to God his entire life and he said God stuck by his side every minute in the lab while he was experimenting. -
College
Carver attended the Simpson Art College. He was later accepted to the Iowa State College and got his master's degree. He went to college until 1896. -
Tuskegee
Booker T. Washington wrote a letter to George asking him to come teach at Washington's school. George arrived to find the new school had not even been built yet. So, he helped them build the school and he began teaching the students a year later. -
Moving to Alabama
George moved to Alabama where the soil was dry and rocky. Carver knew he needed to put nutrients in the soil using peanuts and sweet potatoes, so, he invented crop rotation which he shared with other farmers. -
Classroom on Wheels
George wanted to help all farmers so he made the Classroom on Wheels. He drove around Alabama and when he saw farmers he would stop and help them by teaching them. -
Speaking to Congress
Carver spoke to congress members about the value of peanuts . He wanted them to pass a law to protect peanut sales in the United States. Congress agreed to support him. -
The Peanut Wizard
George was called the Peanut Wizard because he made over three hundred uses for peanuts including paint, soap, and a substitute for meat. When the polio virus struck, he invented a treatment from peanut-oil that cured people. -
Henry Ford
Carver was good friends with Henry Ford. In 1937, they met up in Dearborn, Michigan. They worked on plastics made from soybeans which can be used in cars. Also when Carver got old, Ford installed an elevator in Carver's house so he could get up the stairs easier. -
George's Death
When George was about eighty-three years old, he was walking up his front porch after being gone from his house for a while. On his way up the stairs to the door he slipped on a patch of ice, falling hard and hitting his head. He was immediately taken to the hospital where he fell into a deep sleep which he never woke from.
