Charles Glen King was an American biochemist and nutrition research pioneer who isolated vitamin C at the same time as Albert Szent-Györgyi. A biography of King notes that many feel he deserves equal credit for the discovery.
Born: October 22, 1896, Washington, USA
Died: January 23, 1988
Field: Biochemistry, nutrition science
Known for: Isolating and crystallizing vitamin C (1932)
Institutions: University of Pittsburgh; Nutrition Foundation
King was born in Entiat, Washington, and entered Washington State University early because his one-room school had no twelfth grade. World War I interrupted his studies, and he served in a machine gun company before receiving his chemistry degree in 1918. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in 1923.
The vitamin C breakthrough
Scurvy, a disease that long afflicted sailors on extended voyages, was the problem behind the search. King began his pursuit of vitamin C in 1922, knowing it was an important nutrient for children.
At the University of Pittsburgh, his team studied the anti-scurvy activity of preparations from lemon juice using guinea pigs. They prepared vitamin C concentrates and studied their properties from 1929 to 1931.
The chemical nature of the crystalline compound was reported in Science on April 22, 1932. Fifteen days later, on May 7, 1932, Szent-Györgyi’s team announced that vitamin C is a single substance identical to hexuronic acid.
The credit debate
Szent-Györgyi received the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The prize recognized his work on cellular respiration with special reference to vitamin C, not specifically the discovery of the vitamin itself. It was a lifelong disappointment to King that Europe credited Szent-Györgyi with first identifying vitamin C.
Beyond vitamin C
King later established the functional role of vitamin B, and over a 40-year research career contributed to the study of fats, enzymes and vitamins. From 1942 to 1963 he served as scientific director of the Nutrition Foundation.
Why his discovery matters
- Helped identify a nutrient that underpins public health guidance on diet and deficiency.
- Showed how patient, methodical lab work, here using animal models, can turn a historic disease puzzle into a defined molecule.
- Helped shape the early field of nutrition science, both in the lab and through institution-building.
The National Academy of Sciences remembers him as a brilliant research biochemist well known for isolating vitamin C. His papers are held by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Tomorrow, October 22, 2026, marks 130 years since his birth.
FAQs
Who discovered vitamin C?
Credit is usually shared. King’s team and Szent-Györgyi’s team published the key findings within weeks of each other in 1932. Szent-Györgyi won the Nobel Prize in 1937 for related work.
What is Charles Glen King best known for?
Isolating vitamin C from lemon juice and reporting its chemical nature in 1932.
Where did he work?
Mainly at the University of Pittsburgh, and later as scientific director of the Nutrition Foundation.
Found this article interesting? Subscribe to The Innovators Jam for news, views, and write-ups on innovation, science, future-tech and research.
Follow us: Instagram @theinnovatorsjam, Youtube @InnovatorsJam, LinkedIn @ The Innovators Jam
We would love to hear from you. Leave your reply here.