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Norman Borlaug, 1914-2009
Born Saude, near Cresco, Iowa
Plant geneticist and pathologist Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for both his scientific breakthrough in developing "high-yielding short-strawed, disease-resistant wheat" and his humanitarian work in placing the "new cereal strains into extensive production to feed the hungry people of the world." This achievement made Borlaug a central figure in what was called the "green revolution," a series of scientific advances resulting in massive increases in the world's food production. Borlaug viewed his work as providing "a temporary success in man's war against hunger and deprivation, a breathing space in which to deal with the population monster." Created in the year in which he won the Nobel Prize, this photograph pictures Borlaug in a Mexican wheat field, holding bunches of the so-called "miracle" wheat that he developed by crossing a native Mexican strain with a Japanese dwarf variety.
Arthur B. Rickerby, 1970 |