National Inventors Month

National Inventors Month

By Mary Bellis, About.com. Inventors

May is National Inventors Month. A month long event celebrating invention and creativity. National Inventors Month began was started in 1998 by the United Inventors Association of the USA (UIA-USA), the Academy of Applied Science, and Inventors' Digest magazine.

Why have National Inventors Month as a month dedicated to inventors? The answer is to help promote the positive image of inventors and the real contributions they give to this world.


"We want to recognize those talented, brave individuals who dare to be blatantly creative, and therefore different, and whose accomplishments affect every facet of our lives," says Joanne Hayes-Rines, editor of Inventors' Digest and a sponsor of National Inventors Month.

National Inventors Month - Sponsors

• Inventors' Digest - Sponsor of National Inventors' Month
• United Inventors Association of the USA Sponsor of National Inventors' Month
• Academy of Applied Science A sponsor of National Inventors Month, the Academy of Applied Science is a private, nonprofit organization, incorporated in 1963, with educational and scientific purposes and a major commitment to innovation.

Famous Inventions : A to Z

Research the history of famous inventions - past and present. By Mary Bellis, About.com Guide

• Inventors Patent

• New Inventions

• Inventions and Inventors

http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/inventions_E.htm


Inventors

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was one of the most notable inventors in U.S. history, with more than 300 inventions in his time. Watch this About.com video to learn more about the life and inventions of George Washington Carver

Early Life of George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was born on a plantation owned by Moses Carver in Diamond Grove, Missouri. His parents were both slaves. When Carver was only an infant he was kidnapped along with his mother and sister. The slave master hired someone to bring back the family but Carver was the only family member recovered. Carver would be raised by the slave masters that owned him as a part of the family. Carver attended many different high schools before graduating from Minneapolis High School in Kansas. Before attending college Carver maintained 17 acres worth of crops for about 4 years before starting at Simpson College in Iowa. Carter went on to earn a master's degree at Iowa State Agricultural College as the first black student. He would later become the first black faculty member.

George Washington Carver and the Tuskegee Institute

Carver was hired by Booker T. Washington as the head of agriculture for one of the first Historically Black Colleges in the country, the Tuskegee Institute. While a professor at Tuskegee, Carver improved southern agriculture for decades to come with his crop rotation method. He educated the farmers to alternate the soil-depleting cotton crops with soil-enriching crops such as peanuts, peas, soybeans, sweet potatoes and pecans. This crop rotation method developed by Carver played a large part in revitalizing farming in the south.

George Washington Carver's National Acclaim

Despite the profound impact of his early work with crops it was the work with peanuts that brought Carver national fame. During the early 1920's Carver focused on new uses for the peanut and sweet potato. He even advocated for Congress to levy a tax on imported peanuts. Though Carver did many things outside of teaching, he would remain a professor and head of the agriculture department at Tuskegee until he passed away in 1943. During Carver's old age he spent most of his time traveling the country preaching racial harmony and the importance of peanuts while also promoting the Tuskegee Institute.

Legacy and Death of George Washington Carver

Carver only patented three items before dying, even though he invented hundreds of methods and items to help the agriculture industry. His reasoning? God gave him the idea so how could he sell it to someone else.
And that's a look at the life George Washington Carver. For more on black history, be sure to visit About.com.

See the Video:

http://video.about.com/inventors/Profile-of-George-Washington-Carver.htm#vdTrn

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India
Photos: Internet