Iowa honoring 'Green Revolution' founder with statue
March 23, 2011 | 05:46 PM | Filed in: Food aid
A statue of Dr. Norman Borlaug, the father of the "Green Revolution," will represent Iowa in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall under a bill that Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad signed today.
The Iowa House and Senate on Tuesday approved resolutions to remove an existing statue from the state and replace it with one of Borlaug.
An Iowa native, Borlaug won the Nobel Prize for peace in 1970 and founded the Des Moines-based World Food Prize after the Nobel committee declined his request that they establish such a prize. He died in 2009.
“This is such a marvelous tribute to Dr. Borlaug," World Food Prize Foundation President Kenneth Quinn said in a news release. "I want to express our heartfelt appreciation to the bipartisan leadership of the Iowa Legislature for this action.”
Each state is allowed to have two statues in Statuary Hall. The Borlaug statue is to replace one of James Harlan, who served in the U.S. Senate in the 19th century and who was Interior secretary under President Andrew Johnson, the Des Moines Register reported. Iowa’s other statue depicts Samuel Kirkwood, who was Iowa's governor during the Civil War and who also served as Interior secretary.
The Iowa House and Senate on Tuesday approved resolutions to remove an existing statue from the state and replace it with one of Borlaug.
An Iowa native, Borlaug won the Nobel Prize for peace in 1970 and founded the Des Moines-based World Food Prize after the Nobel committee declined his request that they establish such a prize. He died in 2009.
“This is such a marvelous tribute to Dr. Borlaug," World Food Prize Foundation President Kenneth Quinn said in a news release. "I want to express our heartfelt appreciation to the bipartisan leadership of the Iowa Legislature for this action.”
Each state is allowed to have two statues in Statuary Hall. The Borlaug statue is to replace one of James Harlan, who served in the U.S. Senate in the 19th century and who was Interior secretary under President Andrew Johnson, the Des Moines Register reported. Iowa’s other statue depicts Samuel Kirkwood, who was Iowa's governor during the Civil War and who also served as Interior secretary.
