For Diabetics

My teen years were spent in London, Ontario, Canada. For a spell, I lived within walking distance of Banting House National Historic Site on Adelaide St. North. A statue of Sir Frederick G. Banting (of him at about 30 years of age) and an eternal flame adorn the front of this home-like historical building.

Sir Frederick Grant Banting (1891 - 1941) shared the Nobel Prize for 'Physiology or Medicine for 1923' with John James Rickard Macleod for the discovery of insulin. Macleod was the Professor of Physiology at the University of Toronto who gave Banting and Dr. Charles Best (a medical student at the time) the facilities for experimental work. Together, Banting and Best started the work which lead to the discovery of insulin.

Banting was a highly decorated doctor, lawyer and scientist who served in both World Wars. In 1918 he was wounded at the battle of Cambrai and in 1919 was awarded the Military Cross for heroism under fire. He was awarded his M.D. degree, together with a gold medal, in 1922. At this time, Banting was 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 was endowed by the Legislature of the Province of Ontario.

In addition to his medical degree, Banting received the Reeve Prize of the University of Toronto (1922) and the Doctor of Science (D.Sc. degree at U of T). In 1923, he obtained his doctoral degree in law (LL.D. degree at Queens University). He was appointed member of numerous medical academies and societies in Canada and abroad, including the British and American Physiological Societies and the American Pharmacological Society.

In 1934, Banting was knighted in accordance with the British honours system. This is a means of rewarding an individual for personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and its remaining overseas colonies.

When World War II broke out, Banting served as a liaison officer between the British and North American medical services. In February 1941, he was killed in an air disaster over Newfoundland, Canada. [Sources include: The Official Web Site of the Nobel prize at http://nobelprize.org/; the Canadian Diabetes Association at: http://www.diabetes.ca/ and Wikipedia]

Intro photo source: courtney.benefiel on flickr is an interesting form of 'diabetes' art.
Each light appears to be an empty NovoLog insulin vial. Licensed under Creative Commons.

This was created on May 5th, 2011. All rights reserved. Copyright 2011 sousababy
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