A Practical Scientist

I learned about George Washington Carver in grade school, but I never realized how helpful and practical he was.  He was trying to understand how he could use what was available to make whatever he needed.  For instance, instead of complaining that he didn’t have money for a rug, he learned to use available plants to make a rug and then taught others what he learned.  At first he wanted to be an artist but didn’t have much money so he learned to use minerals or plants to make pigments. Later he shared what he learned so others could save money on paint. 

An instructor at Tuskegee Institute, most of his work was on peanuts (he found over 300 uses) but also extensively studied soybeans, cotton, and sweet potatoes.  He found hundreds of uses for the entire plants including food, medicine, and even plastic.

He worked with farmers and their wives to train them in better ways to farm (such as the rotation of crops so that the ground wouldn’t be exhausted) and household education (such as recipes or handicrafts).  Tuskegee Institute sponsored annual conferences for farmer, sponsored a vehicle that trained farmers at their location, and wrote hundreds of bulletins.

 

The Tuskegee area is much more interesting than I expected. History, leadership, and science!