Dr. Norman Borlaug

The man who saved a billion lives

Dr. Norman Borlaug, third from the left, trains biologists in Mexico on how to increase wheat yields - part of his life-long war on hunger.

Here's a time line of Dr. Borlaug's life:

  • 1914 - Born in Cresco, Iowa
  • 1944 - Rejects a 100% salary increase from Dupont, leaves behind his pregnant wife, and flies to Mexico to head a new plant pathology program. Over the next 16 years, his team breeds 6,000 different strains of disease resistent wheat - including different varieties for each major climate on Earth.
  • 1953 - crosses a short, sturdy dwarf breed of wheat with a high-yeidling American breed, creating a strain that responds well to fertilizer. It goes on to provide 95% of Mexico's wheat.
  • 1962 - Visits Delhi and brings his high-yielding strains of wheat to the Indian subcontinent in time to help mitigate mass starvation due to a rapidly expanding population
  • 1983 - helps seven African countries dramatically increase their maize and sorghum yields
  • 2009 - dies at the age of 95.

"Borlaug's life and achievement are testimony to the far-reaching contribution that one man's towering intellect, persistence and scientific vision can make to human peace and progress."

-- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

If you have time, you should read more about this incredible human being on his Wikipedia entry.