<<<==Previous==                 Philatelic Peanut Gallery                 ==Next==>>> George Washington Carver The Fleetwood First Day Cover issued in 1998 to celebrate achievements in the second decade of the twentieth century provides the following biography: George Washington Carver was born in Missouri in 1861. The son of slaves, Carver was illiterate until he was nearly 20 years old. In his late 20s, he managed to work his way through high school in Minneapolis, Kansas. After the University of Kansas denied him admittance because he was black, Carver studied piano and art at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He eventually transferred to Iowa State Agricultural College in Ames, where he received a bachelor's degree in agricultural science and a master of science degree. In 1896, Carver left for Alabama to direct the newly organized department of agriculture at the Tuskegee Institute, headed by Booker T. Washington. Here he worked on research aimed at developing ways to help farmers - particularly those from the South - improve their economic situation through crop diversification and soil improvement. Carver also pioneered the development of synthetics from plants, making over 100 different products from the peanut and sweet potato alone. Throughout his career, Carver received many lucrative offers to leave Tuskegee, He declined them all - even one from Thomas Edison for $100,000 a year - because serving humanity was more important to him than money. George Washington Carver's work not only benefitted the 20th century's poorest black sharecropper, but all of mankind." First Day Cover for United States commemorative issued January 5, 1948 to mark the Fifth Anniversary of the Death of the Botonist, Dr. George Washington Carver. First Day Cover for United States commemorative issued February 3, 1998 as part of the "Celebrate the Century" Series for the 1910's when George Washington Carver developed many of the "peanut products" promoting crop diversification and nutrition. Reverse of the "Celebrate the Century" First Day Cover showing inscription printed on the back of the stamp: "Botonist George Washington Carver improved the economy of the South by demonstrating the commercial possibilities of peanuts and sweet potatoes. His 'Movable School' educated impoverished farmers." This cover postmarked July (?), 1953, Dothan, Alabama has a slogan cancellation "National Peanut Festival Oct. 19--24". George Washington Carver gave the opening address for the first Dothan peanut festival held "on a near freezing cold day" in 1938. Sources "The Legacy of Dr. George Washington Carver." Tuskegee University. 2022. Web. 5 Aug. 2022.      www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/george-washington-carver. "George Washington Carver." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 22 Jul. 2022. Web.      5 Aug. 2022. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver. Hughes, Langston. "George Washington Carver Agricultural Chemist." Famous American Negroes. New York:      Dodd, Mead and Company, 1954: 69-76.9 Nov. 2020.Web. 23 Jun. 2022.      archive.org/details/famousamericanne0000hugh. "Our History." TThe National Peanut Festival. 2023. Web. 13 Mar. 2023.      www.nationalpeanutfestival.com/p/about/our-history. <<<==Previous==                                                                                                ==Next==>>> Return to the Philatelic Peanut Gallery Home Page.