Renaissance Man Hall of Fame: George Washington Carver

Last week I realized that even though I had heard the name George Washington Carver and heard that he invented the peanut, I had never actually read anything about the life of this man.  But once I did, I discovered a new hero.  I love the kind of people that even though they had to face extreme odds and ugliness, they go on to do amazing things with their lives and for the good of others.  But what is even more amazing about this man, is that he wanted to live a simple life and to contribute to society, but he asked for nothing in return.  He could have lived the life of a rich man, but he lived a practical life, he felt that he should not get rich off of science.

So I honor thee......

George Washington Carver was born to slaves in January of 1864, it was a very turbulant time for slaves, he had lost his father before he was born, he was born weak and sickly, and saddly in the night a group of men kidnapped him and his mother from their owner Moses Carver.  Moses got George back, but they never saw his mother again.  George was raised by Moses and his wife, even after slavery ended, and he was a curious and intelligent little boy.  He loved plants and growing things very much and people called him Doctor Plant, but because he was black he could not go to school where he lived.  He moved away and lived with foster parents so that he could go to school,  he worked and did odd jobs to earn his keep. 

Carver loved art and considered being an artist, he played the piano and loved to sing, but because he did not have parents, it was a long time before he could save enough to go to college.  Finally he earned enough to go to college at 30.  He had to move to Iowa, where there was a college that would accept black students.  He worked his way through college doing other students laundry and odd jobs and finally he graduated from college.  He studied agriculture and set out to help the farmers. He became a proffesor and did  many experiments with peanuts and sweet potatoes.  Carver tried to convince farmers that peanuts and sweet potatoes were a good alternative crop to grow, that cotton was bad for the soil and was damaged easily by weather and insects.  At first farmers did not want to change and they feared that no one would buy it, especially since peanuts were considered monkey food.  Carver did lots of experiments and came up with hundreds of ways to use peanuts and it was said that he served a several course meal to distinguished guest made entirely of peanuts.  Eventually farmers started to listen to Carver and peanuts became a very important crop in Georgia and South Carolina.

Being wealthy was not important to Dr. Carver, he lived a very modest lifestyle, but it was very important to him to help farmers, and his fellow scientist.  I am touched how Dr. Carver came into the world facing many obstacles  like being poor, slavery and being orphaned, but he never let these things destroy his spirit, he worked amazingly hard to follow his dreams and to help other people.  What an amazing story, what an amazing man.  The kind of man I want my children to grow up to be like.  People need hero's and Dr. Carver has definitely become my hero.