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Spring River Basin - Famous People
Born into slavery and orphaned very young, George Washington Carver was not certain of his birthday, although he believed it was in January of 1864. Although poor, George had an enthusiasm for learning and worked his way through elementary school in Neosho, MO, while living with an African American couple. He later moved to Kansas where he completed his high school education. George Washington Carver later received his Bachelor of Science and Master’s degree from Iowa State University. He then worked as a professor at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. At Alabama, he focused on helping southern farmers learn how to better manage their crops, encouraging them to grow peanuts. Growing peanuts in fields where cotton had been grown for years allowed nutrients in the soil to rebound to normal levels. He is famous for developing uses for the peanut such as peanut butter. Although he lived frugally and refused to accept salary increases, he established a fund to support young African Americans pursuing science and left 60 thousand dollars to the Tuskegee Institute upon his death in 1943. Today, a national monument stands in his memory at his boyhood home in Diamond, MO. For more information about George Washington Carver, visit http://www.nps.gov/gwca/expanded/index.htm. Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States of America, is a native of the Spring River Basin Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar, MO, on May 8, 1884, to John Anderson and Mary Ellen Truman. When Harry was 11 months old, his family moved from the Lamar area and settled in Independence, MO. Harry attended school in Independence where he graduated in 1901. After graduation, Truman worked for two banks and for a railroad contractor. In 1906, he decided to move to Grandview, MO, to help manage the family farm. From 1905-1911, Truman served in the Missouri National Guard. In 1917, Truman was sent to France to fight in World War I. Because of his leadership abilities, he was promoted to Captain and commanded Battery D, 129th Field Artillery and led his unit during the Battle of Meuse-Argonne. After the war, Truman remained in the reserves and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel. On June 28, 1919, Harry married Elizabeth “Bess” Wallace, and the couple had their only child, Mary Margaret, on February 17, 1924. Truman became interested in politics when he met James Pendergast, the nephew of the famous political boss Tom Pendergast. Truman excelled in politics, rising from the position of a county court judge to serving nearly two terms as President of the United States In 1934, Harry Truman was elected to the United States Senate, and in January 1945, he was sworn in as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vice-president. When Roosevelt passed away in office only three months later, Harry Truman was sworn in as the 33rd president. As President of the United States, Truman led the U.S. at the culmination of World War II. He made the decision to drop atomic bombs on two Japanese cities on August 6 and August 9, 1945. While in office, Truman desegregated the military and worked against Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist witch hunt. The Truman Doctrine sought to limit the expansion of communist nations, and in 1950, the U.S. responded to the invasion of South Korea, by communist North Korea, with the Korean War. In 1952, Truman announced that he would not run for a second full term as president. Harry and Bess Truman returned to Independence, MO, in 1953 where he lived until his death on December 26, 1972. A presidential library in his name, located in Independence, MO, contains many historical and political archives. For more information about Harry S. Truman, visit http://www.mostateparks.com/trumansite/geninfo.htm and http://www.trumanlibrary.org/. When Wyatt Earp was 22 years old, he served as the first constable of Lamar (1870-1871). He married Urilla Sutherland on January 10, 1870. The couple was married by Wyatt's father, Nicholas Porter Earp, who was a Justice of the Peace. Urilla died in their first year of marriage, and was buried at Howell Cemetery, located about six miles northeast of Lamar. Wyatt Earp is a famous vigilante who maintained the law in Wichita and Dodge City, KS. He later traveled to Tombstone, Arizona where he was a lawman and later fought in the famous “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. For more information about the legendary life of Wyatt Earp, visit http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/earp/earp.htm and http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/mar/papr/du_earp.html. |
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Missouri Watershed Information Network (MoWIN) |
Page last updated August 26, 2008 |
