Norman Ernest
Thanks for stopping by and taking time out of your day to read my post. My intent is to put a smile on your face. Hopefully you’ll go away with some information you may have forgotten about or did not know. Now sit back and enjoy.
Norman was born in Cresco, Iowa back in 1914 to Henry and Clara. From the age of 7 to 19 he worked on the family farm and attended a one-teacher rural school in Howard County. He also attended Cresco High School where he participated in football, baseball and wrestling teams. Living during the depression a program known as the National Youth Administration he enrolled at the University of Minnesota but failed the entrance exam. He was however accepted to the school’s newly created two-year general College. To help finance his studies he put his education on hold periodically so he could take a job. It was in 1935 when he was a leader in the Civilian Conservation Corps, while working with the unemployed on some U.S. federal projects, he recalled, “people were starving, I saw how food changed them, all of this left scars on me.” He received in bachelor of science in forestry in 1937. He went to work for the United States Forest Service and was stationed in Massachusetts and Idaho.
Sorry I forgot to tell you the person I’m writing about is Norman Ernest Borlaug. He attended a lecture by Elvin Charles Stakman on plant pathology which of course is the rest of the story. He began working for DuPont in 1942 and tried to enlist but was rejected under wartime labor regulations. His lab was converted to conduct research for the United States armed forces. He was instrumental in the formulating glue that would not disintegrate in saltwater. He also helped to find an adhesive that resisted corrosion. His contributions to the war effort while helpful is not what he is most noted for. So can you tell me what he is most noted for? Well you are in luck if you don’t know. He was an American biologist, humanitarian and is called “the father of the Green Revolution” and “The Man Who Saved A Billion Lives”. He is only one of seven people to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. He also received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honor. His research in plant disease resistance crops through multiline varieties is legendary. All of this from a person who couldn’t pass a college entrance exam. That everyone is my history lesson for today.
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