Famous Black Scientists

George Washington Carver (1860-1943)

Agricultural Scientist

Dr. George Washington Carver was born in 1860 in Diamond, Missouri. When he was 30 he was accepted to Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. Carver was later transferred to Iowa Agricultural College which is now Iowa State University. There he got a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in bacterial botany and agriculture. Dr. Carver discovered a large amount of products. He discovered three hundred uses for a peanut. Carver died in 1943. He was buried next to Booker T. Washington. The George Washington Carver Monument was dedicated to him at his birth site. This monument was the first to be dedicated to an African American. I chose George Washington Carver because he did a great deal to help southern agriculture and helped chefs around the world dearly.

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa041897.htm

http://www.black-collegian.com/african/aaprofil.shtml#carver

Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)

Mathematician, Inventor

Benjamin Banneker was born in 1731 near Elliott City, Maryland. Banneker taught himself math and astronomy not attending a college. He starting publishing an Almanac in 1791 and continued until 1802. Banneker served on a project to make a survey for the District of Columbia, this helping to design the layout for the nation's capital. Banneker's accomplishments include ones such as publishing a treatise on bees, doing a mathematical study on the cycle of the seventeen-year locust, and becoming a pamphleteer for the anti-slavery movement. Benjamin Banneker died on his farm in 1806 and will always be remembered. I chose Benjamin Banneker because he is known as one of America's best intellectuals and scientists and he accomplished many great things.

http://www.black-collegian.com/african/aaprofil.shtml#banneker

Percy Lavon Julian (1899-1975)

Scientist, Medical Researcher

Dr. Percy Lavon Julian was born in 1899 in Montgomery Alabama. Julian had a bachelor's degree from DePauw, a Master's degree from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna. Much like what George Washington Carver showed what could be done with the peanut, Dr. Percy Lavon Julian demonstrated the same thing but with a soybean. He successfully developed synthetic cortisone in research centers in Chicago, Guatemala, and Mexico City. Dr. Julian found a way to mass produce the drug physostigmine, which treated glaucoma. He also perfected the mass production of sex hormones which led to birth control pills. I chose Dr. Percy Lavon Julian because he is one of the most famous African American Scientists.

http://www.black-collegian.com/african/aaprofil.shtml#julian

Granville T. Woods