• Famous African American plant scientist
• Found hundreds of uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans
• Started life as slave

George Washington Carver was born near Diamond Grove, Missouri. In a struggle between free-soilers and slaveholders, Carver was kidnapped with his brother and mother. "Free-soilers" were people who opposed the extension of slavery into areas acquired from Mexico in the 1840's. During the kidnapping, Carver's mother was sold and died. He was a baby and ransomed (bought) for a $300 racehorse by Moses Carver, a German farmer.

Additional information about George Washington Carver:

• http://lib.iastate.edu:9060/gwc/bio.html
• http://www.tuskegee.edu/Global/story.asp?S=1107203

Page created by Brooks Widmaier
January 1, 2002

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