Charles Herbert Best

For other people named Charles Best, see Charles Best (disambiguation).

Charles Herbert Best
Best circa 1924
Born	February 27, 1899(1899-02-27) West Pembroke, Washington County, Maine
Died	March 31, 1978(1978-03-31) (aged 79) Toronto, Ontario
Known for	Co-discoverer of insulin
Notable awards	Order of Canada Order of the British Empire Order of the Companions of Honour

Charles Herbert Best, CC, CH, CBE, MD, FRS, FRSC, FRCP (February 27, 1899 – March 31, 1978) was a medical scientist and one of the co-discoverers of insulin^{[citation needed]}.

Biography

Born in West Pembroke, Washington County, Maine, he was the son of Luella Fisher and Herbert Huestis Best, Canadians from Nova Scotia.

Co-discovery of insulin

Best moved to Toronto, Ontario in 1915 where he started studying towards a Bachelor of Arts degree at University College, University of Toronto. In 1918, he enlisted in the Canadian Army serving with the 2nd Canadian Tank Battalion. After the war, he completed his degree in the Physiology and Biochemistry course.^[1]

As a 22-year-old medical student at the University of Toronto he worked as an assistant to Dr. Frederick Banting and played a major role in the discovery of the pancreatic hormone insulin—one of the most significant advances in medicine, enabling an effective treatment for diabetes. In the spring of 1921, Banting traveled to Toronto to visit J.J.R. Macleod who was Professor of Physiology at the University of Toronto, and asked Macleod if he could use his lab space. Macleod was initially sceptical, but eventually agreed to let Banting use his lab space while he was on holiday for the summer. He also supplied Banting with ten dogs to experiment on, and two medical students, Best and Clark Noble, to use as lab assistants, before leaving for Scotland.

Since Banting only required one lab assistant, Best and Noble flipped a coin to see which would assist Banting for the first half of the summer. Best won the coin toss, and took the first shift as Banting's assistant. Loss of the coin toss may have proved unfortunate for Noble, given that Banting decided to keep Best for the entire summer (and eventually shared half his Nobel Prize money and a large part of the credit for the discovery of insulin with the winner of the toss). Had Noble won the toss, his career might have taken a different path.^[2]

In 1923, the Nobel Prize committee honored Banting and J.J.R. Macleod with the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of insulin, ignoring Best. This incensed Banting, who voluntarily shared half of his award money with Best.

Professor of physiology

Best succeeded Macleod as professor of physiology at University of Toronto in 1929. During World War II he was influential in establishing a Canadian programme for securing and using dried human blood serum. In his later years, Best was an adviser to the medical research committee of the United Nations World Health Organization.

Best married Margaret Hooper Mahon in Toronto in 1924. They had two sons. One son, Dr. Henry Best was a well regarded historian who later became president of Laurentian University in 1977.

Charles Best is interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

Awards and honours

Best was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1948.^[3] In 1967 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in recognition "for his contribution to medicine, particularly as co-discoverer of insulin".^[4] He was a Commander of the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire^[1] and was made a member of Order of the Companions of Honour in 1971 "for services to Medical Research".^[5] He was a fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Canada, and was the first Canadian to be elected into the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.^[1]

In 1994 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Dr. Charles Best Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, C.H. Best West Elementary School in Burlington, Ontario, and C.H. Best East Middle School in Toronto, Ontario, are named in his honour.

Best received 18 [1] Honorary Degrees from Universities around the World Including

University of Chicago Université Sorbonne de Paris University of Cambridge University of Oxford University of Amsterdam University of Louvain University of Liège University of Chile University of Uruguay

University of San Marcos University of Melbourne University of Edinburgh Northwestern University Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki Free University of Berlin Hebrew University of Jerusalem University of Zagreb University of Toronto

See also

• Canadian Diabetes Association
• Nicolae Paulescu
• Insulin

Further reading

• Henry B. M. Best (2003). Margaret and Charley: The Personal Story of Dr. Charles Best, the Co-Discoverer of Insulin. Dundurn Press Ltd.. ISBN 1550023993. 
• John Waller (2002) Fabulous Science: fact and fiction in the history of scientific discovery, Oxford. See Chapter 11: "Painting yourself into a corner; Charles Best and the discovery of insulin", page 223.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Charles Herbert Best". University of Toronto. http://www.utoronto.ca/bandb/best.htm. 
2. ^ Wright JR (December 2002). "Almost famous: E. Clark Noble, the common thread in the discovery of insulin and vinblastine". CMAJ 167 (12): 1391–6. PMC 137361. PMID 12473641. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=137361. 
3. ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterB.pdf. Retrieved 24 June 2011. 
4. ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 24 May 2010
5. ^ "Supplement tp the London Gazette". London Gazette. June 12, 1971. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/issues/45384/supplements/5978. 

External links

• CBC Digital Archives. Chasing a Cure for Diabetes. Accessed 16 June 2008.
• Dr. Charles Best Secondary School. Accessed 16 June 2008.
• Ontario Plaques, The Discovery of Insulin. Accessed 16 June 2008.
• Order of Canada citation
• University of Toronto. Banting and Best Department of Medical Research Charles Herbert Best. Accessed 16 June 2008.
• "Rewriting Medical History: Charles Best and the Banting and Best Myth by MICHAEL BLISS". Accessed 23 July 2011.
• Charles Best Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

Persondata
Name	Best, Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 February 1899
Place of birth	West Pembroke, Washington County, Maine
Date of death	31 March 1978
Place of death	Toronto, Ontario