Norman Borlaug

Norman Borlaug
Borlaug in 2004
Born(1914-03-25)March 25, 1914
Saude, Iowa, U.S.
DiedSeptember 12, 2009(2009-09-12) (aged 95)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Minnesota (BS, MS, PhD)
Known for
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisVariation and Variability in Fusarium lini. (1942)
Doctoral advisorJonas Jergon Christensen
Other academic advisorsElvin C. Stakman

Norman Ernest Borlaug (/ˈbɔːrlɔːɡ/; March 25, 1914 – September 12, 2009)[2] was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple honors for his work, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, one of only seven people to have received all three awards.[3]

Borlaug received his B.S. in forestry in 1937 and PhD in plant pathology and genetics from the University of Minnesota in 1942. He took up an agricultural research position with CIMMYT in Mexico, where he developed semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties.[4][1] During the mid-20th century, Borlaug led the introduction of these high-yielding varieties combined with modern agricultural production techniques to Mexico, Pakistan, and India. As a result, Mexico became a net exporter of wheat by 1963. Between 1965 and 1970, wheat yields nearly doubled in Pakistan and India, greatly improving the food security in those nations.[5]

Borlaug was often called "the father of the Green Revolution",[6][7] and is credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation.[8][3][9][10][11][12] According to Jan Douglas, executive assistant to the president of the World Food Prize Foundation, the source of this number is Gregg Easterbrook's 1997 article "Forgotten Benefactor of Humanity." The article states that the "form of agriculture that Borlaug preaches may have prevented a billion deaths."[13] Dennis T. Avery also estimated that the number of lives saved by Borlaug's efforts to be one billion.[12] In 2009, Josette Sheeran, then the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, stated that Borlaug "saved more lives than any man in human history".[14] He was awarded the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply.

Later in his life, he helped apply these methods of increasing food production in Asia and Africa.[15] He was also an accomplished wrestler in college and a pioneer of wrestling in the United States, being inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his contributions.[16][17]

  1. ^ a b Phillips, R. L. (2013). "Norman Ernest Borlaug. 25 March 1914 – 12 September 2009". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 59: 59–72. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2013.0012. S2CID 75211546.
  2. ^ "Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug dies at 95". Associated Press. September 13, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  3. ^ a b MacAray, David (October 15, 2013). "The Man Who Saved a Billion Lives". The Huffington Post.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference natureobituary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Borlaug, father of ‘Green Revolution’, dead", DAWN.com. September 14, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  6. ^ Scott Kilman and Roger Thurow. "Father of 'Green Revolution' Dies". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  7. ^ Dowswell, C. (October 15, 2009). "Norman Ernest Borlaug (1914–2009)". Science. 326 (5951): 381. doi:10.1126/science.1182211. PMID 19833952. S2CID 36826133.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Science Heroes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ The phrase "over a billion lives saved" is often cited by others in reference to Norman Borlaug's work.
  10. ^ "Hearings". Agriculture.senate.gov. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011.
  11. ^ "Norman E. Borlaug - Extended Biography". www.worldfoodprize.org. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Avery, Dennis T. (2011). "Winning the Food Race". The Brown Journal of World Affairs. 18 (1): 107–118. ISSN 1080-0786. JSTOR 24590780.
  13. ^ Easterbrook, Gregg (January 1997). "Forgotten benefactor of humanity". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  14. ^ "UN food agency mourns death of champion against hunger". news.un.org. September 13, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  15. ^ Enriquez, Juan (September 2007). "Why Can't We Grow New Energy?". TED. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  16. ^ "Dr. Norman Borlaug". nwhof.org. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  17. ^ "Dr. Norman Borlaug". Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 12, 2023.