The esteemed BustedHalo® Columnist Dr Christine Whelan steps out of her sex and relationships role to profile one of the world’s greatest scientists who you probably have never heard of. She writes:
You’ve never heard of him, yet when he died he was lauded as history’s “greatest human being.” You’ve never heard of him, yet he changed your life.
Dr. Norman Borlaug, who died September 12, 2009, at the age of 95, was humble and kind, and devoted his intelligence not to getting rich himself but to transforming the lives of those who needed help the most.
We spend so much of our time focusing on the goings-on of celebrities and reality TV stars — and that’s OK; it’s only human — but occasionally it’s important to give tribute to a person who is really changing our world, quietly, with no spotlight or paparazzi documenting their journey.
Dr. Norman Borlaug: An American Hero
Born in 1914 in rural Iowa, Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work that contributed to ending the India-Pakistan food shortage of the mid-60s. Until Dr. Borlaug’s discoveries, rot and infestation could decimate wheat crops and reduce entire countries to starvation.He taught impoverished farmers worldwide how to grow healthier crops and is credited with starting the “Green Revolution” — preventing the global famine many scientists and demographers had predicted as a result of world population growth after World War II.
Even profiled on The West Wing
Dr Christine makes a great point. We often know a lot of superficial people, but here’s someone that we should know and appreciate and we probably have never heard of him. And for someone as humble and unassuming as Borlaug, that probably was OK.