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  4. George Washington Carver Collection

George Washington Carver Collection

“At Simpson the kind of people there made me believe that I was a human being.” – G. W. Carver

 

George Washington Carver Day at Simpson College

The George Washington Carver Day Celebration is a collaborative effort between Simpson College and Indianola community members. We work together to bring to life the rich history of Simpson College Alumni and past Indianola resident, George Washington Carver.

George Washington Carver

About Carver

After another college refused to admit him because he was black, Carver matriculated at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, where he studied art and piano (1890-91). His art teacher Etta Budd, seeing his talent for painting flowers and plants, encouraged him to study botany at Iowa State Agricultural College in Ames, where he received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science in 1894 and a master of science degree in 1896.

Noted American agricultural chemist, agronomist, and experimenter whose development of new products derived from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans helped revolutionize the agricultural economy of the South. For most of his career he taught and conducted research at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Tuskegee, Alabama.

 

The Carver Collection includes:

  • List of Folders Containing Photographs
  • List of Folders in General Carver Collection
  • List of Photographs in Each Folder
  • List of Contents of Each General Collection Folder

See the full Carver collection list

Carver Correspondence:

George Washington Carver ~ highlighting his Simpson College connections

1864 – Born July 12 in Diamond Grove, Missouri of slave parents, Carver studied in a one-room school in Neosho, Missouri, and eventually received his high school diploma in Minneapolis, Kansas

1890 – Enrolled at Simpson College to study piano and art, the latter with Miss Etta Budd, who encouraged him to study agriculture at Ames

1891 – Transferred to State Agricultural College at Ames, Iowa

1892 – Paintings exhibited and received honorable mention at Chicago World’s Fair

1894 – Earned Bachelor of Agriculture Degree, State Agricultural College and appointed member of the faculty

1896 – Earned Master of Agriculture Degree, Iowa State College

1896 – Arrived at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama on October 8 as Director of Agriculture at the invitation of Booker T. Washington

1896 – Appointed Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station by the Alabama Legislature

1916 – Named Fellow of the London Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts

1921 – Appeared before the House Committee on Ways and Means regarding tariff on peanuts

1923 – Received Spingarn Medal for Distinguished Service to Science

1928 – Received his first honorary degree, Doctor of Science, from Simpson College

1935 – Appointed Collaborator of the Mycology and Plant Disease Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture

1938 – Feature Film, “Life of George Washington Carver,” made in Hollywood by the Pete Smith Specialty Company

1939 – Received the Roosevelt Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Southern Agriculture

1941 – George Washington Carver Museum dedicated on March 11 at Tuskegee Institute by Henry Ford, Sr.

1941 – Spoke at Simpson’s 1941 Baccalaureate on June 1

1943 – Died January 5 at the Tuskegee Institute

1956 – George Washington Carver Science Hall dedicated on October 6. Simpson was one of the first predominately white colleges to name a building for an African American.

1974 – First annual Carver Lecture given by Dr. Darwin Turner on October 29

1982 – Carver Cultural Center established as a housing unit for students interested in promoting multicultural activities on campus.

1990 – Carver Centennial celebrated all year; George Washington Carver National Fellowship announced

1991 – Wallace Hall of Science named to the National Register of Historic Places – Carver took art classes on the top floor

1993 – George Washington Carver Science Center dedicated on October 22, more than doubling the size of the original hall

2008 – Granting of Carver Medal added to Carver Lecture

2012 – Simpson Experience Walkway in the Kent Campus Center contains the marble wall from the original Carver Hall and the section on Carver under Discovery