The Story of Doctor Carver

The inspiring story of George Washington Carver is told in this MGM short subject and too bad Dr. Carver who was still alive then didn't make an appearance.

Carver was born in the humblest of circumstances as a slave who was robbed of his family by night raiders and sold as a kid to another master. But he apparently lucked out in getting with a family named Carver. He was educated and that by the way was a crime for a white person to do. But by the time he was of age Carver was sent to agricultural college where he became convinced of the need of crop rotation so desperately needed in the cotton growing south.

Put simply you can't plant year after year and you can't plant same thing year after year. Fields have to lie fallow to gain their nutrients back and some crops take more the soil than others. What to plant instead of cotton was the question.

This is where Carver made his mark. The peanut is nutrient friendly and Carver fond over a hundred uses for the peanut and its byproducts. Every time you make and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you can thank George Washington Carver. A family named Carter from Georgia that produced a president owes Carver big time.

By all accounts a modest man Carver was one of the great success stories of the last two centuries. This is one fine short subject about a great and humble man.