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George Washington Carver
1864 to January 5, 1943

As head of the Agricultural Department for Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes, later known as Tuskegee University, for almost 50 years, George Washington Carver developed more than 300 uses for peanuts, 100 uses for sweet potatoes and 100 uses for pecans. He patented only 3 out of 500 agricultural based inventions stating, “God gave them to me. How can I charge anyone else?”

Carver helped local black farmers fight poverty and malnutrition by teaching them to rotate crops to increase production. Through his studies, he learned that the more lucrative cotton plant absorbed nitrogen from the soil while certain pea plants added nitrogen to top soils. He taught farmers that by rotating between cotton and pea crops, they could keep soil nutrient levels high and increase crop yields. When market prices dropped due the higher number of peanuts being sold, Carver developed additional uses for the peanut. These advances helped black farmers maintain nutritious diets.

In 1916, Carver was appointed to the Royal Society of Arts in London, England. In 1923 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP) awarded him the Spingarn Medal. Throughout his life he was offered large sums of money to teach or do research for better-known and better equipped institutions. He chose instead to stay at Tuskegee and focus his efforts on helping African Americans in the south improve their living conditions.
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PICTURES:

First: George Washington Carver. First, third, and fourth pictures cropped pictures from Tuskegee Cemetery History Marker. Second picture courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-J601-302.

Second L: *Tuskegee Cemetery History Marker. M/L, M/R, R: Funeral, grave headstone and memorial.

Pictures taken August 5, 2009. *New picture, taken April 28, 2012.
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SOURCES:

Books
Appiah, Kwame, Anthony and Gates, Henry Louis, ed. "Africana The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience." 1st ed. New York: Civitas, 1999. Print.

Stewart, Jeffrey C. "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About African American History." New York: Broadway. Reprinted 2001. Print.

Site Visit
George Washington Carver gravesite. Tuskegee University. Tuskegee, AL. 5 Aug. 2009.
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INTERRED: Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama.
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SUBMITTED: October 2, 2009. Updated April 28, 2012.
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Carter Godwin Woodson

December 19, 1875 to April 3, 1950

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, known as the Father of Black History Month, was a writer and historian. The son of former slaves, he became the second African American to earn a PhD from Harvard University in 1912. The first was Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois in 1895.

In 1915, Dr. Woodson established the Association for the Study of Negro Life to promote the scientific study of black life and history. The organization is currently known as the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History. In 1916, he published the first edition of his newly created Journal of Negro History. It gave African American and white scholars a means to publish their research.

In 1926, Dr. Woodson founded Negro History Week, in the second week of February to celebrate the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and to recognize the achievements of African Americans. In the 1960's, Negro History Week was changed to Black History Month.

Dr. Woodson authored many books including his best known work, The Mis-Education of the Negro, still in publication today. He died in 1950.
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PICTURES:

First L: Drawing of Dr. Woodson courtesy of The National Archives. National Archives Identifier: 535622. Local Identifier: 208-COM-78. M, R: Gravestone front and back.

Second L: Grave marker. M, R: Home of Dr. Woodson, 1538 9th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001. Registered as a National Historic Landmark.

Pictures taken February 16, 2009. Black and white Public Domain.
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SOURCES:

Audio Recording
Woodson, Carter G. The Mis-Education of the Negro. iTunes, 2010. Digital Book.

Books
Appiah, Kwame, Anthony and Gates, Henry Louis, ed. "Woodson Africana The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience." 1st ed. New York: Civitas, 1999. Print.

Internet
"Association for the Study of African American Life and History." asalh100.org/, Web. 16 May 2009.

"Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950)." encyclopediavirginia.org/Woodson_Carter_G_1875-1950, Web. 13 Feb.
2015.

"Carter G. Woodson." research.archives.gov/id/535622, Web. 16 May 2009.

"Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site Washington, DC." nps.gov/nr/travel/cultural_diversity/Carter_G_ Woodson_Home_National_Historic_Site.html, Web. 16 May 2009.

"Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum." woodsonmuseum.org/home, Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

"Harvard Gazette - A window into African-American history." news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/02/a-window-
into-african-american-history/, Web 13 Feb. 2015.

"Harvard University Press - The W. E. B. Du Bois Lectures." hup.harvard.edu/collection.php?cpk=1011, Web. 15
Feb. 2015.

Site Visit
Carter G. Woodson Home. Washington, DC, 16 Feb. 2009.
Carter G. Woodson gravesite. Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. Suitland, MD. 16 Feb. 2009.
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INTERRED: Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, 4001 Suitland Road, Suitland, Maryland 20746. Phone: 301-568-8410.
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SUBMITTED: February 18, 2009. Updated February 13, 2015.
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All pictures taken by Percy White and are the property of FindFamilyRoots.com unless otherwise indicated.

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