The man credited with the discovery of insulin.
Frederick Grant Banting was born in Alliston, Ontario, Canada in 1891. He attended the University of Toronto, where he switched from studies in divinity to medicine. He finished his B.A. degree in 1916 and joined the Canadian Medical Army Corps. He served with army in France during WWI until he was injured in the battle of Cambrai. He recieved a Military Cross for his heroism.
In 1919 he returned to Canada where he continued on in medicine. He practiced medicine shortly in London, Ontario, served as resident surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He also taught orthopaedic medicine and pharmacology at the University of Western Ontario. In 1922 he recieved his M.D.
During his earlier practices and medical experiences Banting had become interested in diabetes and the research done on insulin. He theorized that insulin could be harvested from the pancreas. Banting discussed his interest and theories with J.J.R. Macleod, Professor of Physiology at the University of Toronto, who gave him a facility and an assistant, Charles Best, to carry out his research. In 1921 they isolated insulin. It was J.B. Collip who refined and processed the insulin for clinical trials.
In 1922 Banting had been given the position as Senior Demonstrator in Medicine at the University of Toronto. He was also appointed Honorary Consulting Physician to the Toronto General Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children, and the Toronto Western Hospital. In the Banting and Best Institute, endowed by the Legislature of the Government of Ontario, Banting helped with such problems as silicosis, cancer, drowning and how to prevent it. During the WWII he became interested in physical problems connected with flying, like blackouts.
In addition to his medical degree, Banting also obtained, in 1923, the LL.D. degree and the D.Sc. degree. He received the Reeve Prize from the University of Toronto, as well as the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1923. He was appointed member of numerous medical academies and societies in Canada and abroad. He was knighted in 1934.
Banting was married twice, first to Marion Robertson in 1924 with whom he conceived a son, William. His second marriage was to Henrietta Ball in 1937.
During the Second World War Banting served as a liasion between the British and North American medical services. While serving in this position he was killed in a flight disaster in Newfoundland in 1941.
Banting House National Historic Site is a museum located in London, Ontario is where Banting lived and worked from 1920-21. The house tells of his life and work and contains many of his awards (some replicas) and pieces of Canadian history. Outside a Flame of Hope burns untill a cure for diabetes is found.
There are also Elementary and High Schools as well as research facilities and committees that now bear his name, in thanks and recognition for his work.
References: http://www.diabetes.ca/about_diabetes/banting/
http://web.idirect.com/~discover/content_pages/banting_bio.html