George Washington Carver was an American botanist, agronomist, chemist, and inventor who developed numerous products and processes that expanded the range of Southern agriculture. He is most famous for his work with peanuts, which resulted in the creation of more than 300 products from peanuts, contributing greatly to the economic improvement of the rural South. Some of his peanut inventions include:

• Cooking oil
• Synthetic rubber
• Paper
• Plastics
• Axle grease
• Printers ink
• Soap
• Cosmetics
• Adhesives
• Greases
• Paints

Carver also developed alternative uses for sweet potatoes, soybeans, and other crops during World War I when there were shortages of crops and food. From soybeans, he invented a process for producing paints and stains, for which three separate patents were issued. Carvers innovations have been credited with the Souths economic survival in the early part of the 20th century.