What did George Washington Carver do that was important?

George Washington Carver in 1906. (Photo: Frances Benjamin Johnston [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons) George Washington Carver is known for his work with peanuts (though he did not invent peanut butter, as some may believe). read more

Carver, George Washington George Washington Carver at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, 1906. Johnston (Frances Benjamin) Collection/Library of Congress, Washington D.C. (LC-J601-302) Carver was born into slavery, the son of a slave woman named Mary, owned by Moses Carver. read more

George Washington Carver usually gets trotted out for the dog and pony show during Black History Month, where well-meaning but ignorant people make all kinds of laughable claims about him. Let's get a couple of the more common ones out of the way right now. GWC did not discover the peanut (they've been known since prehistory). read more