Timeline

Explore significant dates and events in the life and career of Sir Frederick Banting – artist, scientist, and war hero – a Canadian for all times.

1891

 Frederick Banting is born in Alliston, Ontario, Canada.

a map of the united states

1914

 Banting begins his studies at the University of Toronto, earning a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Medicine

a man in a uniform

1918

Banting serves as a medical officer in the Canadian Army during World War I

a group of men in suits

1920

 Banting begins his research on diabetes at the University of Toronto.

a building with a tower

1921

Banting and his research assistant Charles Best successfully isolate insulin from the pancreas of dogs

a group of people looking at a baby

1922

Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy with diabetes, was near death when he was treated with insulin in 1922. The insulin treatment was successful, and Leonard’s life was saved. He became the first person to be treated with insulin, and his case helped to establish insulin as a safe and effective treatment for diabetes. Elizabeth Hughes was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 11 in 1919 and treated with insulin by Dr. Frederick Allen in 1922. Insulin was a new and experimental treatment at the time, and Dr. Allen was one of the first doctors in the United States to use it to treat diabetes. Theodore Ryder was a 14-year-old boy who was one of the first patients to be treated with insulin. He was suffering from diabetes, and his condition was severe

a collage of a woman holding a child

1922

Banting and Best’s discovery of insulin leads to the first successful treatment of diabetes in humans

a group of men sitting in a room

1923

Banting and Best’s discovery of insulin leads to the first successful treatment of diabetes in humans

a gold coin and certificate

1924

Banting and Best’s discovery of insulin leads to the first successful treatment of diabetes in humans

a building with a dome on top

1924

Banting and Best’s discovery of insulin leads to the first successful treatment of diabetes in humans

a man and woman walking down a sidewalk

1925

Banting and Best’s discovery of insulin leads to the first successful treatment of diabetes in humans

a man and woman sitting on a bench

1930

Banting served as head of both the Canadian Associate Committee on Aviation Medicine Research and the Canadian Associate Committee on Medical Research

a collage of two men in military uniforms

1941

Banting dies in a plane crash in Newfoundland, Canada, while serving as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II

an airplane in the snow