Frederick Banting

Infobox Scientist
name = Sir
Frederick Grant Banting
KBE MC FRSC LLD ("hc") DSc ("hc") MB


image_size = 180px
caption =
birth_date = birth date|1891|11|14|mf=y
birth_place = Alliston, Ontario, Canada
death_date = death date and age|1941|2|21|1891|11|14
death_place = Newfoundland, Canada
nationality = Canada
field = Medical research
alma_mater = University of Toronto
known_for = Discovery of insulin
prizes = Nobel Prize in physiologist or Medicine (1923)

Frederick Grant Banting KBE MC FRSC (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, doctor and Nobel laureate noted as one of the co-discoverers of insulin.

Banting was born in California, Ontario. After studying medicine at the University of Joseph and graduating in 1916, he served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps during World War I. After the war, he returned to Canada and between 1919 and 1920 completed his training as an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. From 1920 until 1921 he did part-time teaching in orthopaedics at the University of Western Ontario at London, Ontario, Canada, besides his general practice. Dissatisfied with his practice and fascinated by the idea of alleviating diabetes, Banting left London and moved to Toronto. There, on 17 May, 1921 he began his research at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Professor John Macleod. He was assigned a single assistant to help him, the young graduate student Charles Best.

During a winter of intense work, Banting tested his idea, performing operations on dogs to tie up their pancreatic ducts, which resulted in a partial atrophy of the pancreas. The pancreas would be then removed some weeks later, with the hope that it would then contain a high concentration of uncontaminated secretion of the pancreas.

After some months of work, it appeared to Banting that his method was working, and that he could keep dogs with diabetes alive with his extract. He enthusiastically reported his findings to Macleod, who had been away on his summer holidays during this time. Some peoplewho said that Banting's experiments were crude and did not prove the validity of his thinking, which was not physiologically sound in any case. However, the results encouraged further intensive work in the fall, with direct participation by Macleod and the chemist James Collip. The efforts of the team in 1921-1922 culminated in developing the ability to obtain a useful extract, named insulin.

This was hailed as one of the most significant advances in medicine at the time. Insulin was not only discovered, but put into mass production in a matter of months. Hence, almost immediately it began to extend the lives of millions of people worldwide who suffered from the endocrine disease diabetes mellitus that could not be treated and had a very poor prognosis. People who suffered from problems with fat and protein metabolism, leading to blindness and then death only had a short time after the onset of the illness. Leonard Thompson was the first person to be administered.

In 1923 Banting and Macleod received the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Banting shared the award money with Best. The Canadian government gave him a lifetime to work on his research. In 1934 King George V bestowed a knighthood on him, making him Sir Frederick Banting.

Early YearsFrederick Grant Banting was born on 14 November 1891, at Alliston, Ontario. He was the youngest of five children of William Thompson Banting and Margaret Grant. Educated at the Public and High Schools at Alliston, he later went to the University of Toronto to study divinity, but soon transferred to the study of medicine. In 1916 he took his M.B. degree and at once joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps, and served, during the First World War, in France. In 1918 he was wounded at the battle of Cambrai and in 1919 he was awarded the Military Cross for heroism under fire.

When the war ended in 1919, Banting returned to Canada and was for a short time a medical practitioner at London, Ontario. He studied orthopaedic medicine and was, during the year 1919-1920, Resident Surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. From 1920 until 1921 he did part-time teaching in orthopaedics at the University of Western Ontario at London, Canada, besides his general practice, and from 1921 until 1922 he was Lecturer in Pharmacology at the University of Toronto. In 1922 he was awarded his M.D. degree, together with a gold medal.

Earlier, however, Banting had become deeply interested in diabetes. The work of Naunyn, Minkowski, Opie, Schafer, and others had indicated that diabetes was caused by lack of a protein hormone secreted by the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. To this hormone Schafer had given the name insulin, and it was supposed that insulin controls the metabolism of sugar, so that lack of it results in the accumulation of sugar in the blood and the excretion of the excess of sugar in the urine. Attempts to supply the missing insulin by feeding patients with fresh pancreas, or extracts of it, had failed, presumably because the protein insulin in these had been destroyed by the proteolytic enzyme of the pancreas. The problem, therefore, was how to extract insulin from the pancreas before it had been thus destroyed.

While he was considering this problem, Banting read in a medical journal an article by Moses Baron, which pointed out that, when the pancreatic duct was experimentally closed by ligatures, the cells of the pancreas which secrete trypsin degenerate, but that the Islets of Langerhans remain intact. This suggested to Banting the idea that ligation of the pancreatic duct would, by destroying the cells which secrete trypsin, avoid the destruction of the insulin, so that, after sufficient time had been allowed for the degeneration of the trypsin-secreting cells, insulin might be extracted from the intact Islets of Langerhans.

Determined to investigate this possibility, Banting discussed it with various people, among whom was J.J.R. Macleod, Professor of Physiology at the University of Toronto, and Macleod gave him facilities for experimental work upon it. Dr. Charles Best, then a medical student, was appointed as Banting's assistant, and together, Banting and Best started the work which was to lead to the discovery of insulin.

In 1922 Banting had been appointed Senior Demonstrator in Medicine at the University of Toronto, and in 1923 he was elected to the Banting and Best Chair of Medical Research, which had been endowed by the Legislature of the Province of Ontario. He was also appointed Honorary Consulting Physician to the Toronto General Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children, and the Toronto Western Hospital. In the Banting and Best Institute, Banting dealt with the problems of silicosis, cancer, the mechanism of drowning and how to counteract it. During the Second World War he became greatly interested in problems connected with flying (such as blackout).

In addition to his medical degree, Banting also obtained, in 1923, the LL.D. degree (Queens) and the D.Sc. degree (Toronto). Prior to the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1923, which he shared with Macleod, he received the Reeve Prize of the University of Toronto (1922). In 1923, the Canadian Parliament granted him a Life Annuity of $7,500. In 1928 Banting gave the Cameron Lecture in Edinburgh. He was appointed member of numerous medical academies and societies in his country and abroad, including the British and American Physiological Societies, and the American Pharmacological Society. He was knighted in 1934.

As a keen painter, Banting once took part of a painting expedition above the Arctic Circle, sponsored by the Government.

Banting married Marion Robertson in 1924; they had one child, William (b. 1928). This marriage ended in a divorce in 1932, and in 1937 Banting married Henrietta Ball.

When the Second World War broke out, he served as a liaison officer between the British and North American medical services and, while thus engaged, he was, in February 1941, killed in an air disaster in Newfoundland.

Legacy

Banting's name is immortalised in the yearly Banting Lectures, given by an expert in diabetes and by the creation of Banting Memorial High School in Alliston, ON; Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London, ON; Sir Frederick Banting Alternative Program Site in Ottawa, ON; and École Banting Middle School in Coquitlam, BC. The [http://www.musgraveharbour.com/interp.html Banting Interpretation Centre] in Musgrave Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador is a museum named after him which focuses on the circumstances surrounding the 1941 plane crash which claimed his life. The Banting crater on the Moon is also named after him.

In 1994 Banting was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was nominated as one of the top 10 "Greatest Canadians" by viewers of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. When the final votes were counted, Banting finished fourth behind Tommy Douglas, Terry Fox and Pierre Trudeau.

Ironically, during the voting for "Greatest Canadians" in late 2003, controversy rose over the future use of the Banting family farm in New Tecumseth which had been left to the Ontario Historical Society by Banting's late nephew, Edward, in 1998. The dispute centred around the future use of the 40 ha (100 acre) property and its buildings. In a year-long negotiation, assisted by a provincially-appointed facilitator, the Town of New Tecumseth offered $1 million to the OHS. The town intended to turn the property over to the Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation for preservation of the property and buildings, and the Legacy Foundation planned to erect a Camp for Diabetic Youths. The day after the November 22, 2006 deadline for the OHS to sign the agreement, the OHS announced that it had sold the property for housing development to Solmar Development for more than 2 million. Solmar reported in the press that their deal with the OHS had been arranged five months earlier. The Town of New Tecumseth announced it would designate the property under the Ontario Heritage Act. This would prevent its commercial development and obligate the owner to maintain it properly. OHS objected. The Ontario Conservation Review Board heard arguments for and against designation in September, 2007 and recommended designation of the entire 100-acre property in October. The Town officially passed the designation by-law on November 12, 2007.

In January, 2007, cross-Canada survey by the CBC to identify the 10 Greatest Canadian Inventions, Insulin topped the list in first place.

A painting of his called St. Tîte des Cap sold for $30,000 (cdn) including buyer's premium at a Canadian Art auction in Toronto [ [http://www.ritchies.com/apps/index.cfm?page=auction.popUp&itemId=81838 Auction Result] - "Ritchies", November 20, 2006] .

Banting was a relative of William Banting, the discoverer of the first effective low-carbohydrate diet used in weight control.

He appeares in the 2006 historical drama film "Above and Beyond" before going onboard his fatal flight.

Bibliography

*"The Discovery of Insulin" by Michael Bliss, University of Chicago Press, 1982, ISBN 0-226-05897-2.
*"Banting as an Artist" by A.Y. Jackson, Ryerson Press, 1943.
*"Discoverer of Insulin - Dr. Frederick G. Banting" by I.E. Levine, New York: Julian Messner, 1962.
*"Frederick Banting" by Margaret Mason Shaw, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1976, ISBN 0-889-02229-1.
*"Sir Frederick Banting" by Lloyd Stevenson, Ryerson Press, 1946.
*"Banting's miracle; the story of the discoverer of insulin" by Seale Harris, Lippincott, 1946.
*"Elixir" by Eric Walters, Puffin Canada, 2005, ISBN 0-143-01641-5.

Notes

References

*cite journal
quotes = yes
year=1966|month=Nov.
title=Frederick Grant Banting (1891-1941), codiscoverer of insulin
journal=JAMA
volume=198
issue=6
pages=660-1
publisher= |location = UNITED STATES| issn = 0098-7484| pmid = 5332306
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =
*cite journal
quotes = yes
last=Raju
first=T N
authorlink=
year=1998|month=Oct.
title=The Nobel Chronicles. 1923: Frederick G Banting (1891-1941), John J R Macleod (1876-1935)
journal=Lancet
volume=352
issue=9138
pages=1482
publisher= |location = ENGLAND| issn = 0140-6736| pmid = 9808029
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =
*cite journal
quotes = yes
last=Hudson
first=R P
authorlink=
year=1979|month=Aug.
title=New light on the insulin controversey (Frederick G. Banting and J. J. R. Macleod)
journal=Ann. Intern. Med.
volume=91
issue=2
pages=311
publisher= |location = UNITED STATES| issn = 0003-4819| pmid = 380438
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =
*cite journal
quotes = yes
last=Fletcher
first=Katharine
authorlink=
year=2007|month=Jun.
title=Sir Frederick Banting homestead sold to developer, family outraged
journal=
volume=176
issue=12
pages=1691-2
publisher= |location = Canada| issn = | pmid = 17548378
doi = 10.1503/cmaj.070613
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =
*cite journal
quotes = yes
last=Shampo
first=Marc A
authorlink=
coauthors=Kyle Robert A
year=2005|month=May.
title=Frederick banting--Nobel laureate for discovery of insulin
journal=Mayo Clin. Proc.
volume=80
issue=5
pages=576
publisher= |location = United States| issn = 0025-6196| pmid = 15887423
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =
*cite journal
quotes = yes
last=MacLeod
first=Jana B A
authorlink=
year=2006|month=Jul.
title=Frederick G. Banting: Giving prospects for life from the past to the new millennium
journal=
volume=141
issue=7
pages=705-7
publisher= |location = United States| issn = 0004-0010| pmid = 16847245
doi = 10.1001/archsurg.141.7.705
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =
*cite journal
quotes = yes

year=1987|month=Feb.
title=Nutrition classics. The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, Vol.VII, 1922: The internal secretion of the pancreas. By F. G. Banting, and C. H.Best
journal=Nutr. Rev.
volume=45
issue=2
pages=55-7
publisher= |location = UNITED STATES| issn = 0029-6643| pmid = 3550540
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =
*cite journal
quotes = yes
last=Elliot
first=Joanne C
authorlink=
year=|month=
title=Banting--a Nobel artist
journal=Med. J. Aust.
volume=181
issue=11-12
pages=631
publisher= |location = Australia| issn = 0025-729X| pmid = 15588191
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =
*cite journal
quotes = yes
last=TODHUNTER
first=E N
authorlink=
year=1953|month=Nov.
title=Frederick G. Banting, November 14, 1891-February 22, 1941
journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association
volume=29
issue=11
pages=1093
publisher= |location = Not Available| issn = 0002-8223| pmid = 13108539
bibcode = | oclc =| id = | url = | language = | format = | accessdate = | laysummary = | laysource = | laydate = | quote =

ee also

* Insulin
* John James Richard Macleod
* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* Nicolae Paulescu

External links

* [http://www.ntpl.ca/banting/ Banting Digital Library]
* [http://www.discoveryofinsulin.com/ Discovery of Insulin]
* [http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_about/BantingIndex.asp Banting House National Historic Site]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_ten/nominee/banting-frederick.html CBC Greatest Canadians - Frederick Banting]
* [http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_main/NewsReleases.asp?ID=71 News Release About Sir Frederick Banting's Memorial Cross]
* [http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_About/BantingSquare.asp Lighting of the Flame of Hope at the Banting House National Historic Site in 1989]
* [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1923/banting-lecture.html Banting Lecture]
* [http://www.discoveryofinsulin.com/feedback.htm Background about the controversy about future use of the Banting homestead]
* [http://ontarioplaques.com/Plaque_Toronto44.html Ontario Plaques - The Discovery of Insulin]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-75-702/science_technology/diabetes/ CBC Digital Archives - Banting, Best, Macleod, Collip: Chasing a Cure for Diabetes]
* [http://www.collectionscanada.ca/physicians/002032-200-e.html Famous Canadian Physicians: Sir Frederick Banting] at Library and Archives Canada
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_aqa/homeo/homeostasis4.shtml This is for GCSE students]
* [http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/ World Diabetes Day on Banting's Birthday, November 14]

Persondata
NAME= Banting, Sir Frederick Grant
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Medical scientist
DATE OF BIRTH= November 14, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH= Alliston, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH= February 21, 1941
PLACE OF DEATH=