⚕️
1921
Insulin
👤 Frederick Banting & Charles Best
Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin at the University of Toronto in 1921. Before insulin, Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. Within a year of discovery it was saving lives worldwide.
🌍 Has saved hundreds of millions of lives and is still the primary treatment for Type 1 diabetes over 100 years later.
💡 Banting sold the patent for $1 so the discovery would be available to everyone. He said a discovery this important should not be owned by any individual.
⚕️
1952
The Electric Wheelchair
👤 George Klein
George Klein, a National Research Council engineer in Ottawa, invented the electric wheelchair in 1952 to help veterans injured in WWII. It gave independence to millions of people with mobility challenges.
🌍 The electric wheelchair gave mobility independence to tens of millions of people worldwide with physical disabilities.
💡 George Klein also invented the microsurgical staple gun, the variable-pitch propeller for aircraft, and the ZEEP nuclear reactor — all in one career.