Norman Borlaug

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Deceased (2009)

In 1900, 41 percent of Americans worked on farms; today, fewer than 2 percent do—yet agricultural output has more than tripled. Tractors, combine harvesters, and chemical fertilizers triggered the largest peacetime migration in American history, sending tens of millions from fields to factories and reshaping the nation's economy, culture, and landscape.

Updated May 22

Built World

As of May 2026: Deceased (2009)

In 1820, more than 80% of the world's population lived in extreme poverty. By 2019, that figure had fallen to 8.9% at the then-$2.15/day line, a decline of roughly 0.35 percentage points per year sustained over two centuries.

Updated May 22

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Died 2009

In the 1920s, natural disasters killed an average of 500,000 people per year. Today, with four times the global population, that number has dropped to roughly 45,000—a 99% decline in the per-capita death rate. The transformation happened not through divine intervention or luck, but through a century of investment in weather satellites, building codes, early warning networks, and agricultural science that turned existential threats into manageable emergencies.

Updated May 22