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The Resource George Washington Carver : a life, Christina Vella

George Washington Carver : a life, Christina Vella

Creator
Summary
Nearly every American can cite at least one of the accomplishments of George Washington Carver. The many tributes honoring his contributions to scientific advancement and black history include a national monument bearing his name, a U.S.-minted coin featuring his likeness, and induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Born into slavery, Carver earned a master's degree at Iowa State Agricultural College and went on to become that university's first black faculty member. A keen painter who chose agricultural studies over art, he focused the majority of his research on peanuts and sweet potatoes. His scientific breakthroughs with the crops both of which would replenish the cotton-leached soil of the South helped spare multitudes of sharecroppers from poverty. Despite Carver's lifelong difficulties with systemic racial prejudice, when he died in 1943, millions of Americans mourned the passing of one of the nation's most honored and well-known scientists. Scores of children's books celebrate the contributions of this prolific botanist, but no biographer has fully examined both his personal life and career until now. Christina Vella offers a thorough biography of George Washington Carver, including in-depth details of his relationships with his friends, colleagues, supporters, and those he loved. Despite the exceptional trajectory of his career, Carver was not immune to the racism of the Jim Crow era or the privations and hardships of the Great Depression and two world wars. Yet throughout this tumultuous period, his scientific achievements aligned him with equally extraordinary friends, including Teddy Roosevelt, Mohandas Gandhi, Henry A. Wallace, and Henry Ford. In pursuit of the man behind the historical figure, Vella discovers an unassuming intellectual with a quirky sense of humor, striking eccentricities, and an unwavering religious faith. She explores Carver's anguished dealings with Booker T. Washington across their nineteen years working together at the Tuskegee Institute a turbulent partnership often fraught with jealousy. Uneasy in personal relationships, Carver lost one woman he loved to suicide and, years later, directed his devotion toward a white man. A prodigious and generous scholar whose life was shaped by struggle and heartbreak as well as success and fame, George Washington Carver remains a key figure in the history of southern agriculture, botanical advancement, and the struggle for civil rights. Vella's extensively researched biography offers a complex and compelling portrait of one of the most brilliant men of the last century
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
x, 422 pages
Contents
  • Carver's George
  • Drifting toward life
  • A real human being
  • Booker
  • Dominion of poverty
  • "Stand up for the stupid and crazy"
  • Love and lynch mobs
  • Wrestling with devils
  • Bad days and worse
  • The curtain lifts
  • Trying to be serious
  • A real chemist?
  • Passion pure and simple
  • Suffering humanity
  • Fame and its discontents
  • Miles to go
  • A million thanks
  • Epilogue
  • Appendices: 1. Experiment Station Bulletins by George W. Carver; 2. Partial list of Carver's products from peanuts and sweet potatoes (compiled by Carver); 3. Dr. Joseph Kenney's letter to Booker T. Washington and the Executive Council concerning unsanitary conditions at Tuskegee, March 26, 1903
Isbn
9780807160749
Instance
Label
George Washington Carver : a life
Title
George Washington Carver
Title remainder
a life
Statement of responsibility
Christina Vella
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Nearly every American can cite at least one of the accomplishments of George Washington Carver. The many tributes honoring his contributions to scientific advancement and black history include a national monument bearing his name, a U.S.-minted coin featuring his likeness, and induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Born into slavery, Carver earned a master's degree at Iowa State Agricultural College and went on to become that university's first black faculty member. A keen painter who chose agricultural studies over art, he focused the majority of his research on peanuts and sweet potatoes. His scientific breakthroughs with the crops both of which would replenish the cotton-leached soil of the South helped spare multitudes of sharecroppers from poverty. Despite Carver's lifelong difficulties with systemic racial prejudice, when he died in 1943, millions of Americans mourned the passing of one of the nation's most honored and well-known scientists. Scores of children's books celebrate the contributions of this prolific botanist, but no biographer has fully examined both his personal life and career until now. Christina Vella offers a thorough biography of George Washington Carver, including in-depth details of his relationships with his friends, colleagues, supporters, and those he loved. Despite the exceptional trajectory of his career, Carver was not immune to the racism of the Jim Crow era or the privations and hardships of the Great Depression and two world wars. Yet throughout this tumultuous period, his scientific achievements aligned him with equally extraordinary friends, including Teddy Roosevelt, Mohandas Gandhi, Henry A. Wallace, and Henry Ford. In pursuit of the man behind the historical figure, Vella discovers an unassuming intellectual with a quirky sense of humor, striking eccentricities, and an unwavering religious faith. She explores Carver's anguished dealings with Booker T. Washington across their nineteen years working together at the Tuskegee Institute a turbulent partnership often fraught with jealousy. Uneasy in personal relationships, Carver lost one woman he loved to suicide and, years later, directed his devotion toward a white man. A prodigious and generous scholar whose life was shaped by struggle and heartbreak as well as success and fame, George Washington Carver remains a key figure in the history of southern agriculture, botanical advancement, and the struggle for civil rights. Vella's extensively researched biography offers a complex and compelling portrait of one of the most brilliant men of the last century
Member of
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1952-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Vella, Christina
Government publication
government publication of a state province territory dependency etc
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
Series statement
Southern biography series
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Carver, George Washington
  • African American agriculturists
  • Agriculturists
  • African American scientists
  • Tuskegee Institute
  • Agriculture
  • Peanuts
  • Carver, George Washington
  • Tuskegee Institute
  • African American agriculturists
  • African American scientists
  • Agriculture
  • Agriculturists
  • Peanuts
  • Southern States
  • United States
Label
George Washington Carver : a life, Christina Vella
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 407-412) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Carver's George -- Drifting toward life -- A real human being -- Booker -- Dominion of poverty -- "Stand up for the stupid and crazy" -- Love and lynch mobs -- Wrestling with devils -- Bad days and worse -- The curtain lifts -- Trying to be serious -- A real chemist? -- Passion pure and simple -- Suffering humanity -- Fame and its discontents -- Miles to go -- A million thanks -- Epilogue -- Appendices: 1. Experiment Station Bulletins by George W. Carver; 2. Partial list of Carver's products from peanuts and sweet potatoes (compiled by Carver); 3. Dr. Joseph Kenney's letter to Booker T. Washington and the Executive Council concerning unsanitary conditions at Tuskegee, March 26, 1903
Control code
ocn905801577
Dimensions
25 cm.
Extent
x, 422 pages
Isbn
9780807160749
Lccn
2015006259
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
Label
George Washington Carver : a life, Christina Vella
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 407-412) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Carver's George -- Drifting toward life -- A real human being -- Booker -- Dominion of poverty -- "Stand up for the stupid and crazy" -- Love and lynch mobs -- Wrestling with devils -- Bad days and worse -- The curtain lifts -- Trying to be serious -- A real chemist? -- Passion pure and simple -- Suffering humanity -- Fame and its discontents -- Miles to go -- A million thanks -- Epilogue -- Appendices: 1. Experiment Station Bulletins by George W. Carver; 2. Partial list of Carver's products from peanuts and sweet potatoes (compiled by Carver); 3. Dr. Joseph Kenney's letter to Booker T. Washington and the Executive Council concerning unsanitary conditions at Tuskegee, March 26, 1903
Control code
ocn905801577
Dimensions
25 cm.
Extent
x, 422 pages
Isbn
9780807160749
Lccn
2015006259
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations

Subject

Genre

Member of

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