George Washington Carver was born in 1864. During this time in history our country was in the late stages of the Civil War. Carver was born to parents who were slaves. Carver managed to grow up and attend school and then college where he was one of only 2 African Americans in college. During his time in college, Carver began working with peanuts and discovered that peanuts put "nutrients" back into the soil. Carver is famous for something called "crop rotation". This means that in a field planted with cotton one year, the next year, peanuts would be planted. This way the soil did not become "worn out" and it kept the soil rich. Carver also discovered over 325 uses for peanuts including cooking oil, printers' ink and peanut butter. It is not well-known, but Carver also discovered 100 uses for the sweet potato including shoe polish, a cereal, coffee, paste, and oils. Carver died January 5, 1943.