ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY
July 14, 1943
The George Washington Carver
National Monument is Founded
On this day in 1943, the George Washington Carver National Monument was founded in Joplin, Missouri. Funds for
the project were dedicated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was the first national monument dedicated to an African
American as well as the first to a non-President.
George Washington Carver was born into slavery in Missouri in 1864 and was best known for his research on
alternative crops to cotton (such as peanuts, soy beans, and sweet potatoes) mostly for poor farmers who could use
the crops as a source of food as well as other products useful on the farm. He was considered to be a great
scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. He died January 5, 1943.
|