George Washington Carver, Man of Science Quiz

Answer: He was born a slave, owned by Moses Carver

George was one of many children, most of whom died in infancy or childhood, of Mary and Giles, slaves owned by Moses Carver. Moses Carver opposed slavery in principle, but found that he needed some in order to run his Missouri farm. The exact date of George's birth is not known, but it was probably around 1864.

When George was very young, he was kidnapped, along with his mother and a sister, and sold in Kentucky. Moses Carver was able to recover George, and brought him back to the farm. When slavery was abolished, Moses and Susan Carver decided to raise George and his brother James in their home along with the nieces and nephews that they had adopted after Moses's brother died.

Answer: At home, from Susan Carver

Because the local school in Diamond Grove did not accept black children, Susan Carver started George's education at home. At around twelve years of age, he left home to attend a school in Neosho, ten miles away, boarding with a family in that town and visiting the Carvers on the weekends.

It was at that time that he changed his name from Carver's George to George Carver. At thirteen, he moved again to further his education, to Fort Scott. He attended a number of schools before graduating from high school in Minneapolis, Kansas.

Answer: Art and piano

George drew a lot of plants to develop his drawing skills, and one of his art teachers suggested that he pursue the study of botany at Iowa State Agricultural College, where he became the first black student to be enrolled. He followed his Bachelor of Science degree with a Master's degree based on experimental research on plant pathology, and gained a national reputation for the excellence of his research work.

Answer: Tuskegee Institute

The Tuskegee Institute, now known as Tuskegee University, was established in 1881 as the Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers by Lewis Adams, a former slave, and George Campbell, a former slaveowner. Booker T. Washington was employed as the first principal/president, and remained in charge of Tuskegee until his death in 1915. He recruited man of talent to establish the reputation of his institute, and George Washington Carver is one of the best known of these.

The incorrect options are also historically black institutions. Cheyney University of Pennsylvania was the first to be established; it was founded in 1837 under the name of Institute for Colored Youth by Richard Humphreys. There are two Lincoln Universities: the one in Pennsylvania was founded in 1854 as the Ashmun Institute, while the one in Missouri was founded in 1866 as the Lincoln Institute. Howard University, in Washington DC, like Tuskegee University, is a private institution, while the others listed here are public ones.

"Historically black universities" were established to offer education to African Americans at a time when most universities were not available to them. Many were established after the American Civil War, in states where slavery had been the practice. Colleges and universities established after 1965, when The Higher Education Act of 1965 established the classification of "historically black universities" with special funding arrangements, are termed "predominantly black" if they specialize in offering education to African Americans. In the 21st century, a number of institutions, both historically and predominantly black, have a racial mixture in their student body.

Answer: Cotton

Cotton had been a key crop, but growing only cotton year after year led to serious lack of nitrogen in the soil. Carver encouraged farmers to diversify their crops, adding sweet potatoes and some sort of legume to their produce. Planting these in rotation in the various fields meant that the sweet potatoes and legumes could replace the nitrogen taken away by the cotton.

In addition, there were backup crops to generate income in the event of the failure of the cotton crop for any reason; this became especially significant when the boll weevil wrought extensive damage on cotton crops during the 1890s.

Not only did Carver establish a program in which farmers were trained in the technique on their own properties, he also produced and distributed recipes to encourage people to eat these new crops - incidentally leading to improved nutrition.

Answer: Peanuts

The legumes that Carver encouraged farmers to plant as part of their crop rotation included peanuts and soybeans, but it is the peanut with which his name is most closely associated. He is reported to have discovered or invented over three hundred uses for peanuts, including adhesives, lubricants, fuel briquettes, ink, coffee substitute, shoe polish, and as a wood stain.

He set up companies to market some of these products, but they were not a great commercial success. The Carver Phenol Company sold a mixture of creosote mixed with peanut oil to be used as a liniment in the treatment of tuberculosis.

The Carvoline Company produced a hair dressing that was a mixture of peanut oil and lanolin, as well as a peanut oil used for massages.

Answer: How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption

"How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption" was not the first farmers' bulletin ever produced dealing with the peanut, but it proved very popular. It starts with a rationale for growing them, then describes the requirements for growing and marketing them, and reaches its climax with 105 recipes. Most of these are not earth-shatteringly inventive, having been gathered from other publications, but it is impressive to see them all together. They are organized as seven recipes for soups, nine for breads, twelve for cookies, eight for cakes, and 69 mixed foods. Recipe 105 is for Salted Peanuts: "Parch, rub, and winnow out the brown hulls; put in pan with just a speck of butter; heat gently, shaking all the time; when buttered sprinkle over with fine salt."

Other bulletins dealt with a wide range of agricultural subjects, including sweet potatoes, pecans, cotton, cowpeas, alfalfa, tomatoes, corn, poultry, hogs, and preserving meat in hot weather.

Answer: Poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis)

Polio was a widespread disease, often resulting in partial or total paralysis, before the development of effective vaccines in the 1950s; it is still endemic in a few countries where vaccination programs are incomplete, and this can lead to localized epidemics in nearby regions.

There is no known cure, and the focus of attention in the 1930s was reduction of the paralytic impact, and assisting in the recovery from such paralysis as did occur. Carver was hopeful that peanut oil massages would have a significant impact in the treatment of polio victims, but it was eventually established that the observed benefits came from the massages, not the peanut oil.

Answer: Producing assorted dyes

The bulletin included 73 different dyes that could be made from sweet potatoes, along with wood fillers, pastes, and a wide range of food uses, including candies, breakfast foods, flours, sweeteners, and as a coffee substitute. He did not claim to have invented all of these uses, just to have brought them together for easy reference.

Answer: Peanut butter production

George Washington Carver is often erroneously credited with the invention of peanut butter, but it had been made by the Aztecs before the arrival of Columbus, and a US patent for its manufacture was awarded to Marcellus Gilmore Edson in 1884. This was well before Carver had started his famous work with peanuts.

US patent 1,522,176 was awarded on January 6, 1925. The patent describes it as "a pomade made from peanuts."
US patent 1,541,478 was awarded on June 9, 1925. The patent describes it as "paint and stain and process of producing the same". It describes a process of producing them from clay.
US patent 1,632,365 was awarded on June 14, 1927. The patent describes it as a "process of producing paints and stains"; the description shows that it produces a combination wood filler and stain from clay.