Faced with depleting sks of Chilean saltpeter and the consequent prospect of mass starvation, Birkeland showed his practical side, inventing the first industrial scale method to extract nitrogen-based fertilizers from the air. Norsk Hydro, one of modern Norway’s largest industries, stands as a living tribute to his genius. Hoping to demonstrate what we now call the solar wind, Birkeland moved to Egypt in 1913. Isolated from his friends by the Great War, he yearned to celebrate his 50th birthday in Norway. The only safe passage home, via the Far East, brought him to Tokyo, where he passed away in the late spring of 1917.