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He was born into slavery. At age seven, he was known as the "plant Doctor." When he was a man, he became a teacher and a scientist. His name is George Washington Carver.
George was born in Diamond Grove, Missouri, in---as near as anyone can figure---1864. One night during that year, Black Riders (men who stole slaves and sold them) came on horses and took George and his mother from their owners. George's master, Moses Carver, hired another man to find George and his mother. The man didn't find George's mother but he did find George who had been left to die. Moses Carver and his wife, Susan, nursed George so he didn't die, but even by age seven he was still a weak boy. Because George was weak from his sickness, he didn't have to work much around the farm. He had many hours of free time to walk in the woods and enjoy nature. During his walks he noticed some plants were weak and some were strong. He felt sorry for the weak, sick and dying plants so he made a secret garden in the forest. Whenever he found a dying plant, he gently picked it up by its roots and took it to his secret garden. He also watched over Mrs. Carver's garden.
At age seven, he was known as "the plant doctor." George grew stronger and soon he was able to help more on the farm. He enjoyed planting corn, feeding horses and chickens, and helping Susan Carver with work in the house. George always wanted to learn more, and, at age 10, George wanted to go to school. At that time. Black children were not allowed to attended the same schools as White children. George decided to walk to the nearest Black school in Neosho, Missouri, 10 miles away from Diamond Grove. A married couple in Neosho who had no children, took George in and raised him as if he was their own.
When George was 13, he moved with another family to Fort Scott, Kansas, because he wanted to go to a bigger school. He thought he could learn more there. George worked at jobs because he needed money. When he was a cook in Fort Scott, he saw a group of White men drag Black man into the street and beat him to death. George was frightened it could happen to him so he left that town for good George was deeply affected by the killing. He moved from town to town, but always attended whatever school was there. He knew that one day he would go to college. George started a laundry business in Olathe, Kansas. He was successful at this. Soon he felt old enough to go to college. He sent letters to several colleges and was finally acceded at Highland College in Highland, Kansas. He traveled to the college, but was rejected when the school found out he was Black.
On September ninth, 1890, George was accepted at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He was the second Black student in the school's history. George was 26 years old and almost twice the age of most of the students. He was like a teacher to them. George was happy at Simpson College but he wanted to learn science so he moved on to Iowa State College. Two years after being accepted at Iowa State College, George was asked to work as a teacher in a new subject at Tuskegee Normal School. The new subject was Agriculture. At Tuskegee, his student's helped make a fertilizer, then grew a crop of cow peas, beans, sweet peas, and peanuts. Not only did young people learn at this school, but farmers who came in to ask questions learned new techniques for growing crop. George had the idea to visit the farmers on weekends. He made a large cart to pull to each farm. He called it School On Wheels. He traveled around and taught farmers more about soil and growing crops.
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