Obituaries : Charles Glen King; Nutritionist Who Discovered Vitamin C

Charles Glen King, who discovered Vitamin C when he separated it from the juice of lemons in 1932, has died of heart failure at the age of 91.

The world-famous nutritionist died Sunday at Chester County Hospital here.

King discovered Vitamin C when he was 34 years old and a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught from 1921 to 1941. His discovery paved the way for research that proved Vitamin C’s ability to prevent scurvy and malnutrition.

He was born in Entiat, Wash., and graduated from Washington State University. He received his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.

From 1941 to 1974, King taught chemistry at Columbia University and researched nutrition as associate director of the Institute of Human Nutrition. He was also a nutrition adviser in the Eisenhower Administration.

During the war years his Nutrition Foundation was in the forefront of protecting the vitamin content of dehydrated foods being shipped overseas.

King published more than 200 articles on the positive effects of vitamins and proper nutrition and is credited with linking malnutrition to certain degenerative diseases.

He was awarded many honors for his work in nutrition, including the Charles Spence Award from the American Chemical Society and a medal of honor from the Academy of Sciences in Czechoslovakia.

King’s was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and during his career served as president of the Nutrition Foundation, president of the American Institute of Nutrition and consultant for the Rockefeller Foundation and UNICEF.