Canadians, Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod discover insulin, saving the lives of many diabetics

Date: 15 Apr 1922
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Canadians, Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod discover insulin, saving the lives of many diabetics

Insulin is a peptide hormone used to treat diabetes for patients that would otherwise die. Before its discovery, people with diabetes had had a very short life span. It was first discovered by Frederick Banting and J.J.R Macleod in 1922. The discovery meant that Diabetes sufferers could now take a daily treatment that would help them lead a normal life. Banting was working with J.J.R. Macleod and Charles Best in the University of Toronto in Canada. Both Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work, while Best was excluded, a decision the Nobel Peace Prize committee subsequently regretted.

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?

How we know this

01The Nobel Prize, The Discovery of Insulin, from The Nobel Prize, [online], Available at www.nobelprize.org [Accessed: 05 April 2013]
02Britannica, Who Really Discovered Insulin?, from Encyclopaedia Britannica, [online], Available at www.britannica.com [Accessed: 05 April 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, April 12). Canadians, Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod discover insulin, saving the lives of many diabetics . South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095451

South African History Online (2013) 'Canadians, Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod discover insulin, saving the lives of many diabetics ', South African History Online, 12 April. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095451 (Accessed: 19 September 2026).

South African History Online, Canadians, Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod discover insulin, saving the lives of many diabetics [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095451, (accessed 19 September 2026).

"Canadians, Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod discover insulin, saving the lives of many diabetics ." South African History Online, 12 Apr. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095451. Accessed 19 Sept. 2026.

South African History Online. "Canadians, Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod discover insulin, saving the lives of many diabetics ." South African History Online. April 12, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0095451.