Norman Borlaug, Father of a Crop Revolution, Dies at 95 – Obituary (Obit) – NYTimes.com

This has not been a very good year.
I first learned about him through the tv drama “The West Wing“. Being an impressionable young fellow, I even had a short-lived notion of going into fields involving  genetics, thinking that (although I know believe renewable energy is a close second)  I man really can make a difference. I have no doubt in my mind this man made a difference. You may not have as grand a send off as this year has been very good to the grim reaper, but you are remembered!

Norman Borlaug, Plant Scientist Who Fought Famine, Dies at 95
By JUSTIN GILLIS
Published: September 13, 2009
Norman E. Borlaug, the plant scientist who did more than anyone else in the 20th century to teach the world to feed itself and whose work was credited with saving hundreds of millions of lives, died Saturday night. He was 95 and lived in Dallas.
The cause was complications from cancer, said Kathleen Phillips, a spokeswoman for Texas A&M University, where Dr. Borlaug had served on the faculty since 1984.
Dr. Borlaug’s advances in plant breeding led to spectacular success in increasing food production in Latin America and Asia and brought him international acclaim. In 1970, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
He was widely described as the father of the broad agricultural movement called the Green Revolution, though decidedly reluctant to accept the title. “A miserable term,” he said, characteristically shrugging off any air of self-importance.
Yet his work had a far-reaching impact on the lives of millions of people in developing countries. His breeding of high-yielding crop varieties helped to avert mass famines that were widely predicted in the 1960s, altering the course of history.
Largely because of his work, countries that had been food deficient, like Mexico and India, became self-sufficient in producing cereal grains.
“More than any other single person of this age, he has helped provide bread for a hungry world,” the Nobel committee said in presenting him with the Peace Prize. “We have made this choice in the hope that providing bread will also give the world peace.”
via Norman Borlaug, Father of a Crop Revolution, Dies at 95 – Obituary (Obit) – NYTimes.com.