This essay focuses on 3 issues pertinent to a historical discussion of diabetic neuropathies: ancient observations, 18th- and 19th-century advances, and the discovery of insulin. Given that the underlying biochemical mechanisms of diabetic neuropathy remain poorly understood and that currently used therapies, although seemingly less bizarre than those of the past, are not substantially more effective, the final chapter on the history of diabetic neuropathy remains to be written.