Wang Yinglai
Chinese biochemist (1907-2001)
Wang Yinglai (simplified Chinese: 王应睐; traditional Chinese: 王應睞; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ông Eng-lāi; 13 November 1907 – 5 May 2001), also known as Ying-Lai Wang, was a Chinese biochemist recognized as the first person to create synthetic insulin, a major scientific breakthrough that produced a biologically active compound from inorganic chemicals. He was one of the first group of scientists elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955. He founded the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry in 1958 and served as its director until his retirement in 1984.
Early life and education
Wang was born in Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fujian Province on 13 November 1907, in the final years of the Qing dynasty. He became an orphan at the age of six when his mother died. His father, an Overseas Chinese merchant, had died four years before. Despite the adverse circumstances, he pursued an education throughout the 1920s and 1930s, when China was mired in wars and turmoil. He graduated from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Nanking (Jinling University) and was admitted to the graduate school of the University of Cambridge in 1938, where he studied under David Keilin. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 1941, Wang stayed to teach at Cambridge and conduct research at the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory. He transferred to the Molteno Institute for Research in Parasitology in 1944.
The public source identifies “Wang Yinglai” as chinese biochemist (1907-2001). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wang, Yinglai and Chinese.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7219392. VIAF identifies the subject as 36797316. The Library of Congress control number is nr94004574. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1907, 2001, 1955 and 1958.
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This entry incorporates text from “Wang Yinglai” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.