George Washington Carver was a famous scientist. Carver worked with agriculture. George discovered and experimented with several plants used in agriculture. Carver helped produce several pesticides to combat insects that ate farmers' crops. George Carver developed new methods that are still used in agriculture today. Carver also found uses for things as diverse as peanuts and other plants. He was also awarded numerous medals and awards during his lifetime. George Washington Carver was born around 1861, probably on July 12, but no one knows for sure. Carver was born to Mary and Giles Carver on the plantation of Susan and Moses Carver. George's mother and father were slaves owned by Susan and Moses Carver in Diamond, Missouri. The Carver Museum marks the place where he was born. Later, after his birth, he and his mother were kidnapped and taken to Arkansas. Moses Carver then paid the money owed. They returned and returned George to Susan and Moses Carver. They kept Mary because they probably didn't want to be disturbed by the baby. George was raised by Moses and Susan Carver. As he got older, people started calling him the “plant doctor,” because he was so good with plants. When George was a teenager he went to a school for black children in Neosho, Kansas. He then spent the next ten years traveling across the Midwest. He finally finished school in his early twenties. Then George spent time farming until he had enough money to go to Simpson College in Iowa. After some time Simpson went to Iowa State and in 1894 became the first black student to graduate from Iowa State University. In 1896, George Washington Carver earned his master's degree from Iowa State University. At that time George was becoming known in the United States for the study of fungi and parasites, and also for the study of plants. Later in 1896, George was invited to work at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He accepted the job and was given the opportunity to build an agricultural building and a laboratory. In 1897, the United States Department of Agriculture funded the small laboratory at the Tuskegee Institute. At this time Carver began working on how to solve the problems the South was having with their camps. When Carver arrived at Tuskegee Institute, peanut had not even been recognized as a crop.