The Doc and the Duchess

Alexander W. Clowes

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George Henry Alexander Clowes was a pivotal figure in the development of the insulin program at the Eli Lilly Company. Through his leadership, scientists and clinicians at Lilly and the University of Toronto created a unique, international team to develop and purify insulin and take the production of this life-saving agent to an industrial scale. This biography, written by his grandson, presents his scientific achievements, and also takes note of his social and philanthropic contributions, which he shared with his wife, Edith. It tells the story of Clowes from his childhood in late Victorian England to his death at Woods Hole on Cape Cod in 1958. Educated in England and Germany, Clowes came to America to join a startup laboratory in Buffalo, where he conducted basic research on cancer and applied research on other disease-related problems. Assuming the position of head of research at Lilly, Clowes was at the center of one of the great discoveries that changed the course of medical history and offered new life to millions of individuals with diabetes and other metabolic disorders. Clowes was also instrumental in the development of other commercial pharmaceutical advances. Devoted to a number of philanthropic causes, Clowes and Edith contributed greatly to the cultural life of his adopted country, a contribution that continues to this day.

Foreword / John Lechleiter
Acknowledgements
Introduction: A Warm Embrace
1. Growing Up in Victorian England
2. The Search for a Cure of Cancer
3. Edith Whitehill Hinkel
4. Alec and Edith
5. 1914: The End of an Era
6. In the Borderline Fields of Medicine
7. Lilly and the Insulin Story
8. From Small to Large Scale Production of Insulin
9. Expansion of the Research Programs
10. Woods Hole, MBL, and the Pursuit of Cancer
11. The Duchess, The Doc and The Boys
12. Alec and Edith: Indianapolis Benefactors
13. A Legacy: In Others' Eyes
Appendix I: Publications of George Henry Alexander Clowes
Appendix II: Chronology of Ancestry
Notes
Works Cited
Index

Sujets

• Social Science
• Charities
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Charity
• Charitable organization
• Philantropy

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 02 février 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253020550
• Langue: English

Extrait

The DOC and the DUCHESS
The DOC and the DUCHESS
THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF
George H. A. Clowes
Alexander W. Clowes, M.D .
Forewords by John Lechleiter and A. Ian Fraser
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.indiana.edu
2016 by The Clowes Fund

All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-253-02042-0 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-253-02055-0 (ebook)
1 2 3 4 5 21 20 19 18 17 16
To Susan with all my love
Contents
Foreword by John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D .
Foreword by A. Ian Fraser
Acknowledgments
Introduction: A Warm Embrace
1 Growing Up in Victorian England
2 The Search for a Cure of Cancer
3 Edith Whitehill Hinkel
4 Alec and Edith
5 1914: The End of an Era
6 In the Borderline Fields of Medicine
7 Lilly and the Insulin Story
8 From Small- to Large-Scale Production of Insulin
9 Expansion of Research Programs
10 Woods Hole, MBL, and the Pursuit of Cancer
11 The Duchess, the Doc, and the Boys
12 Alec and Edith: Indianapolis Benefactors
13 A Legacy: In Others Eyes
Appendix 1: Publications of George Henry Alexander Clowes
Appendix 2: Chronology of Ancestry
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Foreword
JOHN C. LECHLEITER, PH.D.
Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Lilly and Company
WITH HIS COURAGE , creativity, and sheer capacity for work, George Henry Alexander Clowes drove the development of one of the twentieth century s great lifesaving medicines: insulin, for the treatment of diabetes-brought to patients in 1923. Later Dr. Clowes also contributed decisively to, among other things, the development of liver extract to treat pernicious anemia and to the mass production of penicillin, the first widely available antibiotic. Few scientists in history left a greater legacy to help more patients.
Considering that legacy alone, it mystifies me that this is the first book-length biography of George H. A. Clowes.
Yet this book was worth waiting for. The bonds between the author and the subject of this story are bonds of love, intellect, and accomplishment. The author, Alexander Whitehill Clowes (Alec) was the grandson of George H. A. Clowes and his heir in many other respects. Like his grandfather, Alec was first and foremost a problem solver in his professional life, preferring to be called a medical investigator rather than a renowned surgeon, compassionate bedside doctor, or academic researcher, even though he was all of those things. Like his grandfather, Alec left a legacy to patients-in his case pioneering tools and techniques that greatly improve outcomes after vascular surgery. And like his grandfather, Alec did not limit his contributions to medicine. This book is one of his wider gifts to society, which also include generous philanthropy in support of education, the visual arts, and music. To gain a fuller sense of this man in his own words and those of his friends and colleagues, watch the video on YouTube entitled The Work and Life of Dr. Alexander Clowes, produced by the University of Washington.
Alec retained personal memories of his subject-memories of a compassionate individual who was an ordinary, loving grandfather, a sensible rule breaker (yes, there is such a thing) who liked to sneak onto the golf course to avoid congestion and fees, and a brilliant competitor who could outsmart all comers in the game of bridge. In this book, Alec combines those memories with a careful study of the voluminous materials about his grandfather that exist in family, academic, and company archives. Far from disqualifying him as a one-sided biographer, Alec s personal connection to his subject is what makes this book not simply the story of a scientist s progress but, more important, the story of intensely human endeavors that need not have turned out as positively as they did.
It is difficult to overstate the horror that was a diagnosis of diabetes before 1923. The only known treatment was to try to keep people with the disease, often children, alive on the very edge of starvation-avoiding regular nutrition since patients no longer could break down the sugars contained in most foods. This effort invariably failed, and life spans with diabetes were measured in months or a few years at best.
Enter George H. W. Clowes. And enter insulin. At every step along the way of taking insulin from laboratory discovery to treatment-such as leaving his family on Christmas Day 1921 to travel to a conference and follow up on a gut feeling about the importance of some experiments done by Canadian researchers; building trust with Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and others at the University of Toronto about the need for partnership with a production firm; and leading teams nearly around the clock for months to remove the myriad obstacles in the way of insulin production-it was Dr. Clowes who made the difference between doubt, frustration, or outright failure and rapid, stunning success.
At that moment in time, success required a compassionate individual, a sensible rule breaker, and a brilliant competitor-and, fortunately, Alec Clowes s grandfather was there. Insulin did not cure diabetes, but it changed the prospects of patients with the disease completely, allowing them to live out normal and otherwise healthy lives.
It is my privilege today to lead the company to which Alec Clowes s grandfather devoted most of his professional life: Eli Lilly and Company. Though the roles of Colonel Eli Lilly and his family in building the firm are profound and self-evident, there arguably was just one essential individual in our nearly 150-year history-one person who not only expanded the potential of our enterprise vastly but also modeled the collaboration between scientists, clinical physicians, and industry that subsequently drove most of the twentieth century s medical breakthroughs. That essential individual was George H. A. Clowes. Still today, modern insulins account for a significant fraction of our company s product portfolio, for, sad to say, diabetes remains a global scourge.
The development of insulin was only act one of Dr. Clowes s professional life at Lilly. His essential qualities allowed him to accomplish much more still. As the CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, I am very grateful that his story is told here. But I also am grateful as a scientist-knowing that this book could inspire future young chemists, biologists, physicians, and other life scientists about the power of collaboration across disciplines and sectors. I am grateful as a student of leadership-since this book leaves no doubt about the impact that one individual can have on the achievement of a massive goal. And I am grateful as a grandfather-seeing the respect and loving memories across two generations that inspired Alec Clowes to write this book.
Cancer gave Alec Clowes a tough deadline, but finishing this book meant so much to him. It is a wonderful book. And Alec met the deadline.
Foreword
A. IAN FRASER
Former Curator, Clowes Fund Collection, Indianapolis Museum of Art; formerly Professor of Art History, Herron School of Art, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
AS FIRST GUIDE TO , and ultimately research curator of, The Clowes Fund Collection of Old Master Paintings, I spent a considerable amount of time in the company of Edith Whitehill Clowes during the last decade of her life. Starting with our first encounter, in 1959, she proved to be both a valued mentor and a cherished friend. Without hesitation, she welcomed my partner, Ambrose Smith, and me into her circle of long-established society friends, most of whom were, like herself, patrons of art, horticulture, and education.
Growing up, as she did, in Buffalo, New York, the privileged daughter of a successful doctor in the late nineteenth century, Edith received an education that naturally tended to accept class prejudice along with a sense of noblesse oblige. However, her ever widening interests and concern for others saved her from becoming another bird in a gilded cage.
That she was never a raving beauty could well have been a blessing. On the other hand, the nickname Duchess, as she was affectionately called by close younger friends, well suited her. She had a large handsome head, short beautifully waved steel-gray hair, sparkling intelligent eyes, and a winning smile. Her scent of choice, which could hardly have been more appropriate, was Jean Patou s Joy. All that, along with her regal bearing, guaranteed attention whenever she entered a room.
Whether as hostess or guest, Edith Clowes had the rare gift of charming the most implacable of curmudgeons. She took a genuine interest in everyone she met. While a Jamaican friend was staying with us, Mrs. Clowes invited her to dinner. At a later postmortem, the Duchess confessed that it had been the first time she had entertained a black person, but she had found our fri