Charles Best (medical scientist)

Born in West Pembroke, Maine on February 27, 1899 to Luella Fisher and Herbert Huestis Best, Canadian born physician from Nova Scotia.[2] Best grew up in Pembroke before going to Toronto to study medicine in 1915.[2]

Best married Margaret Hooper Mahon in Toronto in 1924 and they had two sons. One son, Henry Best was a well-regarded historian who later became president of Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. Best's other son was Charles Alexander Best, a Canadian politician and geneticist.

His father, Herbert Best, was a doctor in a New England Town within Maine with limited economic capabilities, limited to mostly sardine-packing.[2] His mother, Lulu Newcomb, later Lulu Best, did not work, however was prone to sing and play instruments. By the time Charles had reached age, he was choosing between the likes of McGill University and the University of Toronto, family connections persuaded him to pursue his studies in Toronto. Family illness had guided Dr. Best's research interests, having his Aunt Anna die from diabetes, which had profound effects upon him.[2] It was for this reason, alongside his father being a physician, that he chose to study at University of Toronto and train to become a doctor.[2] His University studies were interrupted following his first year at University of Toronto in the faculty of Physiology and Biochemistry,[1] by the onset of the First World War. Here he served as an infantry soldier, however reached the level of acting Sergeant Major.[2] Following his service, he eventually returned to Toronto, but was falling behind in his classes. However, as he claims, the greatest moment of his life occurred following the return to University, when he met his later wife, Margaret Mahon (1900-1988).[2]

He died on March 31, 1978 in Toronto, Ontario.[3] Best is interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto (section 29) not far from Sir Frederick Banting.

Charles H. Best and Frederick Banting, ca. 1924. The Discovery and Early Development of Insulin Digital Collection, Toronto

Best moved in 1915 to Toronto, Ontario, where he started studying towards a bachelor of arts degree at University College, University of Toronto. In 1918, he enlisted in the Canadian Army serving with the 2nd Canadian Tank Battalion. After the war, he completed his degree in physiology and biochemistry.[4]

As a 22-year-old medical student at the University of Toronto he worked as an assistant to the surgeon Dr. Frederick Banting[5] and contributed to the discovery of the pancreatic hormone insulin, which led to an effective treatment for diabetes. In the spring of 1921, Banting travelled to Toronto to visit J.J.R. Macleod, professor of physiology at the University of Toronto, and asked Macleod if he could use his laboratory to isolate pancreatic extracts from dogs. Macleod was initially sceptical, but eventually agreed before leaving on holiday for the summer. Before leaving for Scotland he supplied Banting with ten dogs for experiment and two medical students, Charles Best and Clark Noble, as lab assistants.

Since Banting required only one assistant, Best and Noble flipped a coin to see which would assist Banting first. Best won and took the first shift. Loss of the coin toss proved unfortunate for Noble, given that Banting decided to keep Best for the entire summer and eventually shared half of his Nobel Prize money and a part of the credit for the discovery of insulin. Had Noble won the toss, his career might have taken a different path.[6] MacLeod was overseeing the work of Banting, who had no experience of physiology, and his assistant Best. In December, when Banting and Best were having difficulties in refining the pancreatic extract and monitoring glucose levels, MacLeod assigned the biochemist James Collip to the team. In January 1922, while Collip was working on insulin purification, Best and Banting administered prematurely their pancreatic extracts to 14-year-old Leonard Thompson, who suffered a severe allergic reaction. Eventually, Collip succeeded in preparing insulin in a more pure, usable form. Banting, Best and Collip shared the patent for insulin, which they sold to the University of Toronto for one dollar.

In 1923, the Nobel Prize Committee honoured Banting and J. J. R. Macleod with the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of insulin, ignoring Best and Collip. Banting chose to share half of the prize money with Best. The key contribution by Collip was recognised in the Nobel speech of McLeod, who also gave one-half of his prize money to Collip. In 1972 the Nobel Foundation officially conceded that omitting Best was a mistake.[7]

Best succeeded Macleod as professor of physiology at University of Toronto in 1929.[8] During World War II he was influential in establishing a Canadian program for securing and using dried human blood serum. In his later years, he was an adviser to the Medical Research Committee of the United Nations World Health Organization.

The gravestone of Best (section 29) in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery

Best was elected a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1946.[9] He was elected a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1948.[10] In 1967 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in recognition for "his contribution to medicine, particularly as co-discoverer of insulin."[11] He was a commander of the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire[4] and was made a member of Order of the Companions of Honour in 1971 "for services to Medical Research".[12] He was a fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Canada, and was the first Canadian to be elected into the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.[4]

As a recipient of the Order of Canada, he was awarded the Canadian version of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977.

In 1994 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Dr. Charles Best Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Dr. Charles Best Public School in Burlington, Ontario, and Charles H. Best Middle School in Toronto, Ontario, are named in his honour. His birthplace in Maine is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Dr. Charles Best received 18[13] honorary degrees from universities around the world including

• Nicolae Paulescu

• Henry B. M. Best (2003). Margaret and Charley: The Personal Story of Dr. Charles Best, the Co-Discoverer of Insulin. Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 1-55002-399-3.
• John Waller (2002) Fabulous Science: fact and fiction in the history of scientific discovery, Oxford. See Chapter 11: "Painting yourself into a corner; Charles Best and the discovery of insulin", page 223.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Best.

• CBC Digital Archives. Chasing a Cure for Diabetes. Accessed 16 June 2008.
• Dr. Charles Best Secondary School. Accessed 16 June 2008.
• Ontario Plaques, The Discovery of Insulin. Accessed 16 June 2008.
• Order of Canada citation
• University of Toronto. Banting and Best Department of Medical Research Charles Herbert Best. Accessed 16 June 2008.
• "Rewriting Medical History: Charles Best and the Banting and Best Myth by MICHAEL BLISS". Accessed 23 July 2011.
• Charles Best Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.
• Charles H. Best Foundation archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services