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George Washington Carver was born some time in the early-mid 1860s. A sickly child, Carver was unable to work in the fields, so he did gardening. He was left with many free hours to walk in the woods — beginning his career with nature. He soon became known as the “Plant Doctor” and would help friends and neighbors manage sick plants.

In 1890, Carver began to study music and art at Simpson College. His artwork was on show at the 1893 World’s Fair. Painting gave him the chance to combine his two loves — art and nature. Yet it was his talents (天赋) for gardening that took him in another direction in 1891. Carver became the first African-American to attend what is today Iowa State University. He proved to be a first-class student and upon graduation he became the school’s first African-American teacher.

In 1896, he received an invitation from Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School in Tuskegee, Alabama. Upon arriving, he found that the school was short of money so Dr. Carver had to equip his own lab. He and his students would search trash heaps (垃圾堆) for things to use. This proved that Dr. Carver was well ahead of his time.