Iowan Enigma
Norman Borlaug was born in 1914 on a farm in rural Iowa. As a child, hunger was a daily apprehension, and Norman and his family worked tirelessly to avoid it. Yet despite these circumstances, Norman's grandfather prioritized the wealth of education, frequently stating, “when you're young you'd better study to put information in your brain that you will use later in life to improve not only your well-being, but that of your neighbors and friends." This advice would remain with Borlaug throughout his life as he strived to enhance the quality of life for millions of individuals throughout the world.
"You're wiser to fill your head now if you want to fill your belly later on."
- Nels Borlaug (Norman Borlaug's grandfather)
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"I grew up on the land, on a small farm in North East Iowa. Life was not always easy. I experienced the economic depressions of the 1930's, and from the experience, I felt that families on the land needed help from scientists, and I dedicated my life to science and especially to food production." |
The first of his family to receive a college education, Norman attended the University of Minnesota, where in 1937 he received his Bachelor's in Forestry and later in 1942 his PhD in plant pathology. Attending college in 1933 during the midst of the Great Depression, Borlaug witnessed “people asking for a nickel to
buy bread...the sight of thousands of people impoverished and hungry. I saw how food changed them, [and] all of this left scars on me." Consequently, Borlaug would recall this experience to be, "what got me [him]
into international agriculture."
Image from the World Socialist Web Site
In the course of his schooling, Borlaug attended a lecture by Dr. Stakman, world renowned plant pathologist, entitled, “The Shifty Little Enemies [rusts] that Destroy our Cereal Crops." During the lecture, Stakman warned, “Rust is a shifty, changing, constantly evolving enemy; we can never lower our guard. We must fight rust by all means open to science.” Fascinated, Borlaug became his student.