Banting Research Foundation endowment. A large bequest in 1948 from the estate of Kate E Taylor of Toronto added to the endowment. From its inception, the intent was to create a fund for researchers with "good ideas but no money", as was the situation for Banting when he approached JJR Macleod in 1921 with a request for facilities and resources to pursue his ideas about insulin. The Foundation continues that tradition by making grant funds available only to investigators whose research funding is limited. The Foundation was the first and virtually the only organization funding medical research in Canada until 1938 when the
William Banting William Banting William Banting ("c." December 1796 – 16 March 1878) was a notable English undertaker. Formerly obese, he is also known for being the first to popularise a weight loss diet based on limiting the intake of carbohydrates, especially those of a starchy or sugary nature. He undertook his dietary changes at the suggestion of Soho Square physician Dr. William Harvey, who in turn had learned of this type of diet, but in the context of diabetes management, from attending lectures in Paris by Claude Bernard. In the early 19th century, the family business of William Banting of St.