Norman Ernest Borlaug (born 25 March 1914) is considered by some to be the "father of modern agriculture" and the father of the green revolution. His efforts in the 1960s to introduce crossbred seeds into agricultural production in Pakistan and India saved over a billion people from starvation.
Borlaug was born in Cresco, Iowa, USA. After high school he attended the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. He was admitted into the University's special General College for those who would not normally qualify for admission. After transferring to the regular University he stayed there for his Bachelor's, Masters, and Doctoral programs. The agronomy building on campus there is named after him.
He was awarded the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in increasing crop yields, at a time when he was the director of the wheat program at the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). He was later instrumental in the establishment of the World Food Prizes.
Quotations
"Some credit him with saving more human lives than any other person in history." — Bruce Alberts , President, National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.
"When he won the Nobel Prize in 1970, they said he had saved a billion people. Billion. That's Carl Sagan billion with a B. And most of them were of different race from him. Norman is the greatest human being. And you've probably never heard of him." — Penn and Teller.
"Though barely known in the country of his birth, elsewhere in the world Norman Borlaug is widely considered to be among the leading Americans of our age." Gregg Easterbrook in The Atlantic Monthly.
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Last updated: 05-16-2005 21:07:11
