On This day, January 11 1922: Insulin Was First Used to Treat Diabetes

Two months later, on May 22, 1922, Prof. Macleod delivered a paper on the U of T team’s findings to the American Association of Medical Physicists in Washington, D.C. and got a standing ovation. Macleod used the term “insulin” to describe the extract. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, “in the eyes of most of the world,” this was considered the announcement of insulin.

The next year, on Oct. 26, 1923, the first Nobel prize awarded to Canadians was given to Banting and Macleod.

But the reaction of Banting and Macleod to the prize revealed a little of the testy relationship that had existed in the background between the two men.

According to an account on the website scienceheroes.com (similar to other published reports) Banting was furious that he was sharing the award with Macleod, not Best, and at first swore he “wouldn’t accept the award.” But friends persuaded him that it wouldn’t be smart to refuse the first Nobel for a Canadian (he remains the youngest Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine). Instead, Banting announced he would split his share of the $40,000 monetary prize with Best.

read the story in it’s entirety at TheStar.com