William Banting

Born in 1797, William Banting was an English undertaker whose name became unexpectedly famous far beyond his family business. He is remembered for A Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public, a pamphlet first published in 1863 after he described his own efforts to lose weight.

In that letter, Banting wrote in a plain, practical style about the eating plan that he believed restored his health and mobility. The work reached a wide audience, and his surname became so closely linked with slimming that “banting” entered everyday language as a term for dieting.

Though he was not a doctor, his personal account had an influence that lasted well beyond his lifetime. Banting died in 1878, but his name still appears in the long history of popular diet advice and public debates about obesity.