The discovery of insulin: A toxic story of monstrous egos

Why was Banting so furious at receiving the Nobel Prize for discovering insulin? As far as he was concerned, having to share the award with John Macleod was an insult, writes Kersten Hall

From top left to top right, Banting, Best and Macleod each had a part in the discovery of the life-saving drug (Getty/iStock)

When Frederick Banting’s phone rang one morning in October 1923, it was the call that every scientist must dream of receiving. On the other end of the line, an excited friend asked Banting if he had seen the morning newspapers. When Banting said no, his friend broke the news himself. Banting had just been awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of insulin.

Banting told his friend to “go to hell” and slammed the receiver down. Then he went out and bought the morning paper. Sure enough, there in the headlines he saw in black and white that his worst fears had come true: he had indeed been awarded the Nobel – but so too had his boss, John Macleod, professor of physiology at the University of Toronto.

This is a tale of monstrous egos, toxic career rivalries and injustices. But of course, there is another character in this drama: diabetes itself.