Iowa

Scientist

b. July 12, 1864
d. January 5, 1943

“Where there is no vision, there is no hope.”

George Washington Carver was a groundbreaking agricultural scientist, known for discovering innovative uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes and clay. A black man born during the Civil War, Carver overcame racism to establish himself as a preeminent scientist and renowned academic.

Carver was born a slave in southwest Missouri. As an infant, he was kidnapped by slave raiders, and then abandoned when they discovered he suffered from whooping cough. His mother’s former owners, Moses and Susan Carver, adopted and raised him.

At the age of 13, Carver left home to attend a school for African-Americans. In 1890, he matriculated to Simpson College in Iowa, where he was the only black student. In 1891, he transferred to Iowa State College to focus on his passion for agriculture. After graduating, he served as the only black member of the Iowa State faculty. Carver was invited to head the agriculture department at the Tuskegee Institute, a university for black students founded by Booker T. Washington.

As a professor, Carver encouraged students to think creatively and independently. He emphasized self-sufficiency and resilience, and he pursued broad interests, including painting and religion. Throughout his life, he maintained a positive approach. Even in the face of overt racism, Carver said, “I can’t do my work if my heart is bitter.”

Carver is best known for his advances in the agricultural field. He devised and taught impoverished farmers uses for nutritious, commonly grown crops. He was the first scientist to discover multiple uses for peanuts, developing products as diverse as flour, ink and face cream. He experimented with developing rubber from the sweet potato. Carver’s discoveries are seen as the basis for many products, including biofuels and fruit-based cleaning products.

In 1916, Carver was offered membership in the Royal Society of London. In 1923, he was given a Spingarn Medal by the NAACP. Simpson College awarded him an honorary degree in 1932.

Playwright

b. March 26, 1911

d. February 25, 1983

"To me, it was providential to be an artist, a great act of providence that I was able to turn my borderline psychosis into creativity."

Tennessee Williams was one of the most influential American playwrights. He transformed the darkest aspects of human existence into poetic theater.

Born Thomas Lanier Williams, he was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1938. He later changed his name to Tennessee, after his father’s birth state.

While a scriptwriter at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Williams wrote an original screenplay the company rejected. It was reworked into a play. "The Glass Menagerie" (1945) earned the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and launched Williams’s playwriting career.

Often set in the South and featuring characters seeking salvation and meaningful human connections, his plays were infused with aspects of Williams’s personal struggles. He sparked controversy by including gay characters.

His award-winning plays include "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1947), "The Rose Tattoo" (1951), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1955) and "The Night of the Iguana" (1961). "A Streetcar Named Desire," "The Rose Tattoo" and "The Night of the Iguana" were adapted into Oscar-winning movies. Actors starring in his works included Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Jessica Tandy and Vivien Leigh.

Williams and his partner, Frank Marlo, were together for more than 10 years. Their relationship ended when Marlo died of cancer in 1963.

Williams received two Pulitzer Prizes, four Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, and a Tony Award for Best Play.