1948 3c George Washington Carver

U.S. #953
3¢ George Washington Carver
Issue Date: January 5, 1948
City: Tuskegee Institute, AL
Quantity: 121,548,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Perforations: 10 1/2 x 11
Color: Bright red violet

U.S. #953 honors Dr. George Washington Carver and features the same format as the 1940 Famous American Scientists stamps.

George Washington Carver was born into slavery around 1864 in Diamond, Missouri. As a young man, he worked hard to get an education at a time when that was very difficult for Black Americans. He earned a master's degree in agricultural science from Iowa State University and was the only African American in the country at that time with an advanced degree in that field. In 1896, Booker T. Washington invited him to lead the agriculture department at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he would remain for the next 47 years.

At Tuskegee, Carver focused on helping poor Southern farmers who had worn out their soil by growing only cotton. He taught them to rotate their crops, planting peanuts and sweet potatoes to restore nutrients to the earth. He then went to work finding new uses for those crops so farmers could sell them. In all, he developed more than 300 products from peanuts alone, including cooking oil, soap, cosmetics, and wood stains. His research helped transform the economy of the South and earned him the nickname "The Peanut Man."