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George Washington Carver (1865)close

George Washington Carver was born near Diamond Grove, Missouri, the son of a slave. He was raised by his owner, Moses Carver. George's owners realized that he had a remarkable mind and would benefit from going to school, but at that time, black children were not permitted to attend schools with white children. Instead, he left home to attend schools for black children. In 1891, he was admitted to Iowa State University and received degrees in Agriculture and Botany. After graduation, he became the first African American to teach at Iowa State. Eventually, Booker T. Washington, the founder of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes (later the Tuskegee Institute) convinced Carver to come and teach there, and he remained on the faculty until his death. Carver's dream was to give African Americans the ability to work and support themselves. He developed products from peanuts and sweet potatoes, common crops grown by black farmers in the south. He is credited with developing peanut butter.

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