Collection on George Washington Carver

Collection

Identifier: MS0226

Staff Only

Content Description

The Collection on George Washington Carver consists of photographs and text used in an exhibit at the National Agricultural Library (NAL). Photographs are not originals. NAL staff requested them from other sources for the exhibit. The exhibit is undated.

Additionally, there are photocopies of articles about Carver, published between 1920 and 1996.

There are photocopies of documents from Carver's official federal employee personnel file, which were obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, Civilian Personnel Records, 111 Winnebago Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63118-4199.

There is also an undated script of a one-person play titled "Listening to the Still Small Voice: The Story of George Washington Carver" by Paxton J. Williams. The script is autographed by the author. Donated by Esther Edwards, USDA Visitor's Center, in 2001.

Dates

Creation: 1920-1996
Creation: Majority of material found within 1940-1977

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Biographical Sketch

George Washington Carver (1864-1943), farmer, agricultural chemist, and educator, dedicated his life to agricultural research. Among his contributions were crop-rotation methods for conserving nutrients in the soil, and new uses for peanuts and sweet potatoes, which helped to improve the agricultural economy in the Southern United States. Carver was the first African American to serve on the faculty of Iowa State University. He spent the majority of his career as director of agricultural research at the Tuskegee Institute. Beginning in 1935, he worked for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a collaborator in the Division of Plant Mycology.