Frederick Banting: insulin, war service and a British connection

Frederick Banting’s place in medical history rests on insulin, but the breakthrough was not the work of one man alone. At the University of Toronto, Banting and his student Charles Best isolated insulin with the assistance of physiologist John Macleod and biochemist James Collip. The treatment changed the prospects of people with diabetes. Banting’s own connection with Britain came through a different route: during the First World War he served in hospitals in Kent and France, and later received British honours and took part in British medical life.

From an Ontario farm to medical school

Banting was born near Alliston, Ontario, on 14 November 1891, the youngest of five children. His family hoped he might enter the Methodist ministry, and he began university in an arts course. He later changed direction, entered the University of Toronto’s medical programme and graduated in 1916. His early academic record had been uneven, but he worked hard at medical school and specialised in surgery.

As a medical student, Banting attempted to enlist in the Canadian army and was initially refused because of poor eyesight. He joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1915 and, after graduating, went on active service. In May 1917 he became an assistant to surgeon Clarence Starr at the Granville Canadian Special Hospital in Ramsgate, Kent. Banting spent thirteen months there before being transferred to France in 1918.

He treated wounded men near the front, including during the fighting at Amiens and Cambrai. Shrapnel injuries ended his frontline service. Banting was awarded the Military Cross for bravery while attending the wounded under fire. After the war he returned to Canada, completed surgical training and worked as a doctor, though an unsuccessful medical practice led him to take up teaching at the University of Western Ontario.

Following the problem of diabetes

In 1920, while preparing a lecture on the pancreas, Banting read research on diabetes and the hormone then understood to regulate sugar in the blood. Earlier attempts to extract it had failed, in part because pancreatic enzymes broke it down. A report describing the tying off of the pancreatic duct suggested a possible way to destroy the cells producing those enzymes while leaving the islets of Langerhans intact.

Banting took the idea to John Macleod, professor of physiology at the University of Toronto. Macleod provided laboratory facilities and the help of Charles Best. Banting and Best began experiments using dogs; as they needed more material, they also tested extracts from the pancreases of fetal calves and adult animals. Biochemist James Collip subsequently helped refine the extract for use in people. The work was collaborative, involving different contributions to the experimental programme and the preparation of a usable treatment.

On 11 January 1922, 14-year-old Leonard Thompson received the first insulin injection at Toronto General Hospital. The initial extract was not sufficiently pure, but further work by Collip improved it. Insulin was then used to treat people with diabetes, including patients seen by Banting after he established a Toronto practice in 1922. Before insulin, severe diabetes was often treated with a starvation diet; the arrival of an effective treatment offered a new prospect for patients.

Recognition and research beyond insulin

Banting and Macleod received the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of insulin. Banting shared his portion of the prize money with Best, while Macleod shared his with Collip. The same year, the province of Ontario endowed the Banting and Best Chair of Medical Research, and Banting was appointed its senior demonstrator in medicine. His later research included silicosis, cancer and drowning.

His interests also extended to aviation medicine. In 1938 Banting joined research with the Royal Canadian Air Force on the physiological problems faced by pilots at high altitude. During the Second World War, he worked on the causes of blackout under high g-forces and supported the development of Wilbur Franks’s flying suit, intended to help pilots withstand those forces. Banting was travelling to England to conduct operational tests on the suit when the aircraft carrying him crashed in Newfoundland in February 1941. He died from his injuries.

British service and honours

Banting’s British connection was grounded in experience and institutions, not in birthplace: he was Canadian, and his insulin research was carried out in Toronto. His wartime work in Ramsgate and France brought him to Britain and the European theatre as a medical officer. He also received a licence to practise medicine, surgery and midwifery from the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1918, after returning to Canada.

His later distinctions included the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics, awarded by the University of Edinburgh in 1927; he delivered the Cameron Lecture there the following year. He belonged to the British Physiological Society as well as medical societies in Canada and elsewhere. In 1934, King George V made him a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. The following year he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Banting also became an active vice-president of the Diabetic Association, now Diabetes UK.

These honours place him within a British history of medical and scientific institutions, while the central research achievement remained an international collaboration based in Canada. The distinction matters: Banting’s story connects Britain to the development of insulin through his service, professional recognition and diabetes advocacy, rather than making the discovery a British one.

Why Frederick Banting deserves a place in British Legacy

Frederick Banting deserves a place in British Legacy because his life shows how medical work crosses national boundaries without erasing where it happened. The insulin research was conducted at the University of Toronto, with Banting, Best, Macleod and Collip making distinct contributions. Its practical result—the first insulin injection to Leonard Thompson in January 1922 and the treatment of subsequent patients—marked a profound change in the care of diabetes. Banting’s role in that work is significant, but the collaborative account is the more accurate one.

His British connection is equally specific. As a Canadian army doctor, he served in Ramsgate and France during the First World War, attending the wounded under fire and receiving the Military Cross. Later, the University of Edinburgh honoured his medical work with the Cameron Prize and lecture; the Order of the British Empire and Fellowship of the Royal Society recognised his standing, while his role with the Diabetic Association connected him to organised diabetes care in Britain. Together, these links make his story relevant to British medical heritage without claiming him as British or relocating his discovery. His legacy lies in both a treatment that transformed care and a career that joined Canadian research to British service and institutions.

Sources

Frederick Banting — Wikipedia, revision 1379807994

Adapted in part from Frederick Banting by Wikipedia contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text has been edited and combined with the existing article; this adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.