Frederick Banting

Revolutionized diabetes treatment through insulin discovery

Sir Frederick Grant Banting (1891-1941) transformed modern medicine through his co-discovery of insulin, one of the most significant medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. As a young orthopedic surgeon and part-time physiology lecturer, Banting conceived a novel approach to isolate pancreatic secretions while reading medical journals at 2 AM. His persistence led to the formation of the Toronto insulin team with Charles Best and John Macleod.

Before insulin discovery in 1921, diabetes was a death sentence - children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes typically survived less than a year through starvation diets. Banting's team successfully isolated insulin from dog pancreases, with the first human trials showing miraculous recovery in dying patients. By 1923, insulin production began commercially through collaboration with Eli Lilly, saving millions of lives worldwide.

Despite winning the Nobel Prize at age 32, Banting refused to patent insulin, stating Insulin belongs to the world, not to me. He later conducted pioneering research in aviation medicine during WWII. Tragically, Banting died in a plane crash while en route to Britain to share his latest military medical research. Today, over 537 million adults live with diabetes globally, all benefiting from Banting's legacy.