GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER TIMELINE
5th Jan 1864
George Washington Carver was born in Diamond, Missouri, U.S. to an enslaved couple, Mary and Giles, who were owned by Moses Carver, a German-American immigrant.
1888
In 1888, after he was granted a loan of $300 from the Bank of Ness City, he decided to study art and piano at the Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, joining the next year.
1891
Encouraged by his art teacher to pursue education in the field of botany, in 1891, he began to attend the Iowa State Agricultural College in Ames. He became the first African-American student of the institute.
1896
In 1896, the president of the Tuskegee Institute, Booker T. Washington invited him to become the head of their Agriculture Department. He accepted the offer and soon introduced alternative crops for farmers.
1915
From 1915, he began to experiment and research on the various new uses of peanuts, soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. He had a set of assistants who had to put together existing uses.
1916
In 1916, he was inducted into the Royal Society of Arts in England.
1920 To 1921
In 1920, he gave a speech at the Peanut Growers Association on the different ways in which peanuts can be used. He also spoke at the United Peanut Associations of America, elaborating on 'The Possibilities of the Peanut'. He also demonstrated 145 peanut products. The next year he gave a testimony before the congress for a tariff on imported peanuts.
1922
After 1922, he published six agricultural bulletins. He also authored articles in many peanut industry journals and also wrote the syndicated newspaper column, ‘Professor Carver's Advice’.
1923
In 1923, he received the Spingarn Medal, conferred by NAACP annually for outstanding achievement.
1928
In 1928, he received an honorary doctorate from Simpson College.
1933 To 1935
From 1933 to 1935, he researched on the use of peanut oil massages to cure infantile paralysis, also known as polio. However, research showed that it was massages that helped and not the peanut oil.
1935 To 1937
From 1935 to 1937, he became involved in the USDA Disease Survey, in order to study the various causes of the number of plant diseases. His master’s degree in plant diseases and mycology helped him in this project.
1937
In 1937, he participated in two conferences on chemurgy, an emerging field at that time, which dealt with the production of products from agricultural raw materials.
1938
In 1938, he established the George Washington Carver Foundation, which aimed to continue research activities in the field of agriculture. He donated a sum of $60,000 to the foundation.
1939
In 1939, he received the Roosevelt Medal for 'Outstanding Contribution to Southern Agriculture'.
14th Jul 1943
On July 14, 1943, the George Washington Carver National Monument was opened at the National Park Service, Missouri. Franklin Delano Roosevelt donated $30,000 for the monument.
1977
In 1977, he was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.
1990
In 1990, he was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
1994
In 1994, Iowa State University conferred upon him the tile, 'Doctor of Humane Letters'.
2005
In 2005, the American Chemical Society declared his research at the Tuskegee Institute as a National Historic Chemical Landmark.
2007
In 2007, the Missouri Botanical Gardens dedicated a garden in his name. The place also installed a commemorative statue of him and displayed material relating to his work and achievements.