( CNN ) -- Nobel laureate Norman E. Borlaug , an agricultural scientist who helped develop disease-resistant wheat used to fight famine in poor countries , died Saturday . He was 95 . Norman Borlaug received a Congressional Gold Medal from then President George W. Bush on July 17 , 2007 . Borlaug died from cancer complications in Dallas , Texas , a spokeswoman for Texas A & M University said . A 1970 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize , Borlaug was a distinguished professor of international agriculture at the university . Borlaug started at Texas A & M in 1984 , after working as a scientist in a program that introduced scientific techniques for preventing famine in Mexico , according to the university . Until recently , he traveled worldwide working for improvements in agricultural science and food policy , said Kathleen Phillips , a university spokeswoman . Borlaug was known as a champion of high-yield crop varieties , and other science and agricultural innovations to help fight hunger in developing nations . iReport.com : Tour Borlaug 's boyhood farm . `` We all eat at least three times a day in privileged nations , and yet we take food for granted , '' Borlaug said recently in an interview posted on the university 's Web site . `` There has been great progress , and food is more equitably distributed . But hunger is a commonplace , and famine appears all too often . '' He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 , and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2006 , according to the university 's Web site . The agriculture institute at the university was named after him in 2006 . Borlaug also created the World Food Prize , which recognized the work of scientists and humanitarians who have helped fight world hunger through advanced agriculture , the university said . A memorial service will be held at the university at a later date .
He died at the age of 84 from complications caused by cancer . In 1970 , was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to science . Helped develop disease - resistant wheat , worked to alleviate world food shortages . Borlaug : ` ` There has been great progress .. but famine appears all too often ''