The Discovery of Insulin: Is There Glory Enough for All?

In October 2011, the University of Toronto and the Torontoheadquartered Gairdner Foundation partnered to celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of the discovery of insulin. In 1921, four scientists worked to discover, isolate, and purify insulin at the University of Toronto: Frederick Banting, John J. R. Macleod, James B. Collip, and Charles H. Best. The credit for this achievement has been assigned in varying ways. Popular opinion, in Toronto and worldwide, has bestowed the recognition for discovery upon Banting and Best. Indeed, many noted diabetologists have credited the achievement to this pair. However, the Nobel Committee awarded the Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Banting and Macleod in 1923. Michael Bliss, in his 1982 history of the discovery of insulin, revisited the question of who really is responsible for this wonder drug. Our essay will explore the pathway toward the discovery of insulin and seek to understand why the credit for this monumental achievement was apportioned in such different ways.