Nobel Peace Prize

Norman Borlaug, Statuary Hall, U.S Capitol

Norman Borlaug:                  Country School Boy- Oregon #8
A curious young boy, born on the family farm in Cresco, Iowa in 1914, would grow up to the smell of baking bread and ask why grass grew better in some spots on the farm than on others. 
 
Witnessing starving and struggling people during the Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, Norman Borlaug would follow his destiny to perfecting the genetic modification of wheat. He dedicated his life to saving starving people around the globe, from Mexico, to India, Pakistan and China. 
 
Norman Borlaug would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, as well as the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and be hailed as the Father of the Green Revolution by developing a high yield dwarf wheat that would resist insects, diseases and fungus. It has been noted that, “Borlaug saved more lives than anyone else in the history of mankind”… and had a full size bronze statue placed beside noted American heroes in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol Building.
 
Norman’s story is long and inspiring from his childhood on the farm to his world-wide agricultural accomplishments, but his childhood schoolhouse, New Oregon #8, stands on that birthplace and farm today as part of the Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation, “Dedicated to future generations of Normans who can walk and learn on these sacred grounds.”
 
 The Norman Borlaug Foundation holds annual educational events each spring and fall for school children, hosts tours, while also including adult education days. The foundation says they are committed to providing a learning environment rich in unique opportunities.

Norman Borlaug, that curious little farm boy, the product of a one-room country school, serves as a testament to the educational commitment of his parents and his rural community in Cresco, Iowa! Norman would be awarded a number of titles during his career in agricultural  research.
 
                                                            "The Man Who Fed the World"
                                                     "The Father of the Green Revolution"
                                                     "The Man Who Saved a Billion Lives"
                                                                 "The Apostle of Wheat"
 
*Note: Each of the United States is allowed two statues to be placed in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol Building. Borlaug replaced a 1910 statue of Sen. James Harlan that was sent back to his home town of Mount Pleasant, IA. The other Iowan is 1913 Gov. Samuel Kirkwood.

For more information, click on the black button below to access the Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation website! 

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Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation