George Minot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | ( 1885-12-02)December 2, 1885 Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | February 25, 1950(1950-02-25) (aged 64) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (BA,MD) |
| Known for | Anemia Treatment ofpernicious anemia |
| Awards | George M. Kober Medal(1929) Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh(1930) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine(1934) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Johns Hopkins School of Medicine |
George Richards Minot (/ˈmaɪnɒt/ ⓘMY-not; December 2, 1885 – February 25, 1950) was an American medical researcher who shared the 1934Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine withGeorge Hoyt Whipple andWilliam P. Murphy for their pioneering work onpernicious anemia.
George Richards Minot was born inBoston,Massachusetts to James Jackson Minot (1853–1938) and Elizabeth Whitney.[1] He was namesake of his great-great-grandfather George Richards Minot (1758–1802).[2] His father was a physician; his father's cousin wasanatomistCharles Sedgwick Minot (1852–1914);[3] one of his great-grandfathers wasJames Jackson (1777–1867), co-founder ofMassachusetts General Hospital.[4] He developed interest, first, in the natural sciences, and then, in medicine.
Minot obtained his B.A. fromHarvard College in 1908, where he was elected toThe Owl Club, and obtained his M.D. degree in 1912 from theHarvard Medical School. Between 1913 and 1915, he worked in theWilliam Henry Howell's lab atJohns Hopkins School of Medicine, studying blood thinning proteins, such asantithrombin. In 1915, he secured a junior position on the medical staff of theMassachusetts General Hospital, where he started research on bloodanemia. During the first world war, he served as a surgeon in for the US Army. As part of those duties, he worked withAlice Hamilton to understand what was causing workers at a munitions plant in New Jersey to become ill. They eventually discovered that skin contact with TNT led to the sicknesses.[5]
In 1917, he came to Collis P. Huntington Memorial Hospital in Boston; he became chief of medical services in 1923, and was appointed physician-in-chief in 1934. In addition, Minot became professor of medicine at the Harvard University, and was appointed director of the Thorndik Memorial Laboratory atBoston City Hospital. He also worked in the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital as a staff member. He was a member of the Pernicious Anemia Committee at Harvard and served on the Anti-Anemia Preparation Advisory Board of theU.S. Pharmacopoeia.[6]
Minot was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1926.[7] In 1930, Minot was awarded theCameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh withWilliam P. Murphy. Minot shared the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine withWilliam P. Murphy andGeorge H. Whipple given for their work on the treatment of bloodanemia.[8] They all discovered an effective treatment forpernicious anemia, which was a terminal disease at the time, with liver concentrate high invitamin B12, later identified as the critical compound in the treatment. He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1935 and a member of the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences in 1937.[9][10]
Minot was diagnosed withdiabetes mellitus in 1921 at the age of 35, by DrElliott P. Joslin, a fellow professor at Harvard Medical School and one of the leading diabetes doctors of his time. Diabetes was a fatal disease at the time. Joslin kept him alive the only way he knew, by restricting food. Minot was 6 feet one inches tall and only weighed 135 pounds. Joslin put him on a diet of only 530 calories per day. Minot, like most every diabetes patient, at the time, would probably die within a year.[citation needed]
However, insulin was discovered at about the same time Minot was diagnosed. Insulin became widely available about a year later Dr.William Castle observed thatFrederick Banting's andCharles Best's discovery ofinsulin in 1921, not only transformed diabetes treatment, but also, by keeping Minot alive, contributed towards the discovery of a cure forpernicious anemia.[11] Minot and Murphy's famous paperTreatment of pernicious anemia by a special diet was published in 1926.[12]
Minot began developing complications associated with diabetes in 1940, and suffered a serious stroke in 1947, which partially paralyzed him.[13] He died inBrookline, Massachusetts on February 25, 1950.[4] He was aUnitarian.[14]His home inBrookline, Massachusetts, was designated aNational Historic Landmark in recognition for his work.[13]
Minot and his wife Marian Linzee Minot (Weld) (1890–1979), whom he married in 1915, had two daughters and a son.[citation needed]
including the Nobel Lecture on December 12, 1934The Development of Liver Therapy in Pernicious Anemia
