Monday, December 04, 2006
The greatest Iowan who has ever lived
Dr. Norman Borlaug, the man who has saved more human lives than any person ever, is an Iowan. Reading the story of his accomplishments at the link, one is forced to wonder whether "Iowa stubborn" is not one of Dr. Borlaug's fundamental success factors.
MORE: On reflection, I would think that Louis Pasteur would give Norman Borlaug a run for the money in the aggregate lives saved contest.
5 Comments:
By 
, at
Mon Dec 04, 01:49:00 PM:
Dr. Borlaug is a great man. We should ALL honor him and that he has lived a meaningful life that has made a difference, and take lessons from it. How many school children know his name and his accomplishments, compared to some pop-culture idiot or sports figure?
-David
By , at
Mon Dec 04, 03:41:00 PM:
Don't overlook another Hawkeye who changed the world - Robert Noyce.
By 
Dawnfire82, at
Mon Dec 04, 08:32:00 PM:
Saved countless lives with great ideas? That's nothing. George Washington Carver, who I had to learn about when I was a kid, developed uses for peanuts. That's real genius!
Isn't it?
By La Cot, at
Mon Dec 04, 09:11:00 PM:
Indeed. Dr. Borlaug is singularly deserving of that honor. Personally, I find it rather sad that I only learned of him and his tremendous contributions after I moved to MN and happened to see a feature article on him on the university's home page one day.
Pasteur and Fleming are quality runners-up (er, not for the medal of honor, I mean).
By Georg Felis, at
Mon Dec 04, 11:22:00 PM:
I might put in a plug for Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, who turned hospitals from a place of dying to a place of healing by the simple act of making people wash their hands.
