Frederick Ernest King

Frederick "Freddie" Ernest King (1905–1999) was a British biochemist.

Biography Frederick E. King received his secondary education at Bancroft's School and at age 16 began study for his bachelor's degree. He graduated in 1924 with a Bachelor of Science with honours from East London College (now named Queen Mary University of London). There he graduated in 1927 with a Doctor of Philosophy in physical and inorganic chemistry with supervisor James Riddick Partington. In 1928 at St Mary's Church, Higham Ferrers, King married his first wife, Rose Ellen Holyoke. Frederick E. King stayed at East London College until 1930, first as a postdoctoral fellow and then as a junior lecturer, teaching organic chemistry. In 1930 he was awarded a Ramsay Memorial Fellowship and moved to Oriel College, Oxford to work in Robert Robinson's group at the Dyson Perrins Laboratory. King received a D.Phil. in 1933 and an M.A. in 1934. He was appointed in 1934 as a University Lecturer and held appointments as a Lecturer in Organic Chemistry from 1936 to 1943 at Magdalen College, Oxford and from 1937 to 1945 at Balliol College, Oxford. At Oxford he was a co-author for seven papers on the synthesis of physostigmine. During their Oxford years, King and his wife Rose had two daughters (born in 1931 and in 1933) and two sons (born in 1936 and in 1940). King was awarded a D.Sc. in 1946. From 1948 to 1955 King was a co-author for about 70 papers, several of which were written with Trevor J. King, who was also newly arrived from the University of Oxford and later became a professor of chemistry at the University of Nottingham. King's team investigated extracts from many tree species, including "English yew, Nigerian satinwood, muninga, opepe, acacia, ayan, wallaba, eucalyptus, rengas and lignum vitae." However, the 1973 oil crisis increased the price of crude oil so much that the protein production process became economically infeasible.

In 1963 Frederick and Rose King became maritally separated. In 1966 he bought a 70-acre farm near Battle, East Sussex. In 1969 he married Dorothea Haines. Frederick King formally retired in 1970, worked for one year as a consultant for BP, and then settled in East Sussex. In 1954 he was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society. In 1955 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary College, London (now named Queen Mary University of London).

Selected publications