George Washington Carver
All my life I have risen regularly at four o’clock and have gone into
the woods and talked to God. There He gives me my orders for the
day.
George Washington Carver
Faith has played a key role in the history of black Americans. It’s
what inspired the famous inventor George Washington Carver.
He once asked God to show him the secrets of the universe. However
according to Carver, God started him out with something smaller - the
peanut.
Carver took those secrets and produced hundreds of inventions that are
still in use today.
The ‘Plant Doctor’
Carver was born to slave parents near Diamond Grove, Mo. in 1864. The
Civil War ended a year later and times were hard for blacks -
something from which Carver and his family were not exempt.
He grew up poor and was denied an education, because of his race. But
that didn’t stop him from learning. Carver fell in love with the
wonders of nature. It was a passion that earned him a nickname that
lasted a lifetime.
“He was considered the “plant doctor” as a youngster,” explained
Tyrone Brandyburg of the Carver Museum. “He pretty much had a green
thumb - everything he touched grew.”
Carver eventually went to high school and later attended college at
the age of 30. He earned a degree in agricultural science from Iowa
State University.
In 1896, he completed his master’s degree and was invited by Booker T.
Washington to join the faculty of the Tuskegee Institute, a trade
school for blacks in Alabama.
Witty Inventions
His research at the institute resulted in the creation of more than
300 products from peanuts -- products like cooking oil, paint and,
yes, peanut butter. In addition, he created more than 100 products
from sweet potatoes.
Carver is also responsible for inventing synthetic materials, such as
marble and plywood. He even invented the dye which is still used in
Crayola Crayons.
Also a talented in artist, Carver created some of his own art paints
using local clays.
Brandyburg said many of Carver’s inventions were Vnot for him, but for
the benefit of others.
“The people in the community were starving,” Brandyburg explained.
“They didn’t have any money to take care of themselves//those items
that were made from sweet potato and the peanut those were things
Carver invented to help people just survive.”
Carver: ‘The Lord has Guided Me’
Carver is mostly known for his scientific contributions regarding the
peanut. But he is also recognized as a devoted Christian, who boldly
declared that the God of the universe was his source of
inspiration.
Carver was often heard to say “The Lord has guided me,” and “Without
my Savior, I am nothing.”
“Carver believed that the Great Creator gave him - or at least allowed
him - to do these things or have these skills,” Brandyburg said.
“He asked God to reveal to him the secrets of the universe,” Tuskegee
University’s Frank J. Toland said. “God’s response to him was that his
mind was too small to perceive that.”
To that Carver replied, “Then teach me the mysteries of the
peanut.”
Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have the
habit of making excuses.
George Washington Carver
One of the things that has helped me as much as any other, is not how
long I am going to live, but how much I can do while living.
George Washington Carver
Originally published February 2008.
Charlene Israel CBN News Reporter
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