University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Can J Health Hist. 2023 Sep;40(2):430-465. doi: 10.3138/cjhh.598-072022. Epub 2023 Jul 24.
After the discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto in 1921-22, Frederick Banting and Charles Best downplayed the contributions of physiology professor John James Rickard Macleod, the director of the laboratory where the discovery was made. Banting and Best, their allies, and to a lesser extent the university promoted a "fairy tale" version in which the two young investigators made the discovery on their own, creating the so-called "Banting and Best myth." Over the next 60 years, the myth prevailed and Macleod's reputation became increasingly tarnished, with both Banting and Best actively maligning their former mentor. While the publication of Michael Bliss' in 1982 placed Macleod's reputation on the road to recovery, there are still many lingering issues that have been raised, and Macleod remains misunderstood, misinterpreted, and maligned. This paper, using primary and secondary historical sources, addresses topics that have been repetitively raised by Macleod's detractors over the past century.
1921 年至 1922 年，多伦多大学发现胰岛素后，弗雷德里克·班廷和查尔斯·贝斯特淡化了生理学教授约翰·詹姆斯·理查德·麦克劳德的贡献，而实验室正是在那里做出了这一发现。班廷和贝斯特及其盟友，在较小程度上还有这所大学，推广了一个“童话”版本，即这两位年轻的研究者独自做出了这一发现，创造了所谓的“班廷和贝斯特神话”。在接下来的 60 年里，这个神话盛行，麦克劳德的声誉越来越受损，班廷和贝斯特都积极诋毁他们以前的导师。虽然迈克尔·布利斯 1982 年出版的著作使麦克劳德的声誉开始恢复，但仍有许多遗留问题被提出，麦克劳德仍然被误解、曲解和诋毁。本文利用原始和二手历史资料，探讨了过去一个世纪里麦克劳德的诋毁者反复提出的一些话题。
