On this day, January 23, 1922, fourteen year old Canadian Leonard Thompson received the first successful insulin injection as a treatment for diabetes. Thompson, who was in a coma due to Type 1 Diabetes, was given an injection on January 11, but apparent impurities caused a sever allergic reaction. Biochemist James Collip worked to improve and purify the ox-pancreas extract. The second injection on January 23 brought the boy out of his coma and was a complete success. Prior to the development of insulin, people with Type 1 diabetes did not survive for more than a few weeks or months with the disease.
You’ve probably heard of the Spanish Armada, in 1588 is a famous failure - a defeat so complete that it established the English as a naval power, while it underscored Spain’s decline. But much less remembered was that the English too raised an armada, seeking to take advantage of the Spanish loss, itself ending in dismal, almost spectacular failure.
The Forgotten English Armada