Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug has died. He is sometimes credited with saving the lives of more than a billion people by developing strains of wheat that had larger yields and were more resistant to disease. He’s received his share of recognition over the years, but considering how large an impact he’s had on the world, he’s not that well known. I only heard of him myself through the SDMB.
Damn. After all the work he has done, with his death, the world is a poorer place without him.
Truly a legendary figure of the 20th century and perhaps the most under-appreciated. I think he came to my notice in a serious way through this 1997 profilein the Atlantic monthly which is still worth reading.
Agriculture and nutrition are fundamental to human well-being but progress in these areas tends to be under-appreciated especially in countries where hunger hasn't been a major problem in living memory. Borlaug started the [World Food Prize](http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/World_Food_Prize) to draw attention to these issues.
I just heard about this from a link one of my friends posted on Facebook. He had a long life but it’s still so sad.
By all accounts, he was a wonderful person, who put his shoulder to the wheel and worked hard to try to fix the problems that many people just cluck their tongues or wring their hands about. It’s a shame that more people don’t know about him – I’m going to tell a bunch of people about him now, because I think he lived a truly inspirational life that people should know about.
He was interviewedon Penn Jillette’s radio show in 2006, along with Leon Hesser who wrote a book about him called “The Man Who Fed The World.” It’s really touching how humble he was – a lot of people who have achieved much less are arrogant about it to the point of obnoxiousness, but to him, it seems, this was just the work he was supposed to do, and he did it.
He was one of those people whose life and accomplishments were so exemplary that everyone in the industry could feel proud for choosing the same work.
The greatest man who ever lived. If there is a heaven, he’ll have the penthouse suite.