Proving that one person can make a difference, biochemist and world hunger fighter Norman Ernest Borlaug (1914–2009) was born on this day on a farm in Cresco, Iowa, the son of Norwegian immigrants and a self-described “corn-fed, country-bred Iowa boy.”

“It was that black soil of the Great Depression that led me to a career in agriculture,” he said.

With a doctorate in plant pathology, Borlaug joined a Rockefeller Foundation agricultural project in Mexico in 1944 and developed high-yield grain varieties that dramatically increased crop production.

He once said, “Pessimism has no place in action.”

Working in the field with passion and tireless commitment, he helped develop hardier wheat strains and the wheat-rye hybrid triticale. His work helped many developing countries become more agriculturally self-sufficient and earned him the nickname “the apostle of wheat.”

His lifelong fight against hunger, part of what became known as the Green Revolution, helped save countless lives. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, he said: “We must recognize the fact that adequate food is only the first requisite for life.”

“For a decent and humane life we must also provide an opportunity for good education, remunerative employment, comfortable housing, good clothing, and effective and compassionate medical care.”

Throughout his life, Borlaug inspired and trained thousands of young scientists. In 1986, he established the World Food Prize, an annual award honoring people whose work improves the quality or availability of food around the world.

Norman Borlaug reminds us that science can serve mercy, and that a field of grain can become a field of hope.