Abstract
On August 27, 1923, the cover of the Time magazine featured Dr. Fredrick Grant Banting, the man responsible for the discovery of insulin. He and J. J. R. MacLeod were later that year awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The story of the discovery of insulin is filled with controversy, drama, academic bickering, and the excitement and reward that come with making an impact in the lives of millions of patients suffering from the then fatal disease, diabetes. For most, the discovery of insulin is credited to this bright young surgeon and the medical student assigned to assist him in the laboratory in the summer of 1921, Charles Best. Yet the discovery and purification of an insulin extract involved a team effort, one shared with J. J. R. McLeod, C. H. Best, and J. B. Collip. Banting never expected and was somewhat ill-prepared for the instant fame the discovery of this life-changing drug brought him. A grateful nation bestowed upon him the position of Canada’s first professor of Medical Research. By the 1930s, he was awarded numerous awards and honorary degrees from universities and medical societies, including Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire in 1934. Banting was never able to repeat a similar scientific achievement. He spent the next decade doing research on silicosis and searching for a cure for cancer. During this time, he befriended A. Y. Jackson and many of the newly formed Group of Seven Painters, becoming an amateur artist in his own right. He frequently traveled with Jackson to the Canadian Arctic and rural Quebec on painting excursions. He wrote poetry and documented his life in journals, allowing many biographers the opportunity to gain insight into the man behind the fame. During World War II, Banting devoted his time to wartime scientific and aviation research, collaborating with the British. Sir Fredrick Banting’s life was cut short when he was killed in a plane crash off the east coast of Newfoundland while flying on a secret mission to Great Britain in 1941.
Keywords
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bliss M. Banting a biography. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart; 1984.
Stevenson L. Sir Fredrick Banting. Springfield: Ryerson; 1947.
Banting Papers. Fisher Rare Books Library, University of Toronto.
Bliss M. Dr Fredrick Banting: getting out of town. CMAJ. 1984;130:1215–23.
Bliss M. The discovery of insulin. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart; 1982.
Barron M. The relation of the islets of Langerhans to diabetes with special reference to cases of pancreatic lithiasis. Surgery Gyne Ob. 1920:31(5):437.
Banting FG, Best CH. The internal secretion of the pancreas. J Lab Clinic Med. 1922;7:256–71.
Banting FG, Best CH, Collip JB, Campbell WR, Fletcher AA, Macleod JJR, Noble EC. The effect produced on diabetes by extracts of the pancreas. Trans Assoc Am Phys. 1922;37:337–47.
Nobel Lectures in physiology or medicine 1922–1941. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1965.
Katz S. A new informal glimpse at Dr Fredrick Banting. CMAJ. 1983;129:1229–32.
Callahan William R. The Banting enigma: the assassination of Sir Fredrick Banting. St. John’s Newfoundland: Flanker Press; 2005.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pasieka, J. (2015). Sir Fredrick Grant Banting. In: Pasieka, J., Lee, J. (eds) Surgical Endocrinopathies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13662-2_43
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13662-2_43
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-13661-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-13662-2
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)