Frederick Grant Banting

Facts

Frederick Grant Banting

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Frederick Grant Banting

Born: 14 November 1891, Alliston, Canada

Died: 21 February 1941, Newfoundland, Canada

Affiliation at the time of the award: University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Prize motivation: "for the discovery of insulin."

Prize share: 1/2

Work

Diabetes is the body's inability to metabolize sugar correctly. Doctors realized that diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin, which is formed in parts of the pancreas, but could not prove it. Frederick Banting suspected that another substance formed in the pancreas, trypsin, broke down the insulin. In John MacLeod's laboratory in 1921, Frederick Banting and Charles Best treated dogs so that they no longer produced trypsin. Insulin could then be extracted and used to treat diabetes.

To cite this section
MLA style: Frederick G. Banting – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2018. Thu. 18 Oct 2018. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1923/banting/facts/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Learn more

Nobel Prizes 2018

This year 12 new laureates have been awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. Their work and discoveries range from cancer therapy and laser physics to developing proteins that can solve humankind’s chemical problems. The work of the 2018 Nobel Laureates also included combating war crimes, as well as integrating innovation and climate with economic growth. Find out more.
Nobel prizes burgundy 2018

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.