A Brief History of Diabetes Diabetes as a known condition has been around since ancient times. Here is a brief timeline of the disease: 1552 BC : The physician Hesy-Ra wrote the first mention of a symptom of diabetes (frequent urination) on Egyptian papyrus. 250 BC : Apollonius of Memphis coined the term diabetes. 11th century AD : The word mellitus—Latin for honey—was added to the term diabetes. At the time, diabetes was diagnosed by tasting the urine to see if it was sweet. The 1800s : A test was developed to detect sugar in the urine. The early 1900s : Several diabetes diet treatments were rolled out. These included a whiskey and black coffee "cleanse" followed by a restrictive diet (often leading to starvation) and an "oat-cure," consisting of frequent doses of 1:1 oats to butter mixture. 1929 : Insulin was produced and distributed for the first time. 1950 : The diabetic food exchange system was first developed. 1959 : Type 1 and type 2 diabetes were distinguis...