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Charles Glen King (1896-1988) was born in Entiat, Washington, on October 22, 1896. He attended Washington State College (today Washington State University) and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1918. King's time at WSC was interrupted by his service in the 12th Infantry Machine Gun Company of the United States Army during World War I. While in Pullman, he was the president of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and he married Hilda Bainton in 1919. King went on to pursue graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh, where he received his M.A. in Chemistry in 1920, and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1923. He served as an Instructor at the University of Pittsburgh (1920-1926), a Postdoctoral Associate at Columbia University (1926-1927), and Postdoctoral Associate at Cambridge, England (1929).

As a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh (1927-1942) and Professor at Columbia University (1942-1962), King rose to international prominence for his isolation and crystallization of Vitamin C in 1932, and his other work in the science of nutrition. In addition to producing over 80 publications on subject of Vitamin C, King served as the first director of the Nutrition Foundation in 1942, and helped establish the journal Nutrition Reviews. He helped to found the Plant, Soil, and Nutrition Laboratory at the United States Department of Agriculture, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1951, received the Order of Rodolfo Robles from the Guatemalan government in 1958, and served as the president of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences, the American Institute of Nutrition, the American Society of Biological Chemists, and the American Public Health Association.

King was the recipient of numerous national and international awards throughout his career, and served as an advisor to the Eisenhower Administration and as a consultant for both the Rockefeller Foundation and United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Washington State University honored King with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1964, and created the Charles Glen King Fellowships in Nutrition and Biochemistry as a tribute to his achievements.