Ivan R. King

Ivan Robert King (25 June 1927 – 31 August 2021) was an American astronomer. His notable works include work on structures of globular clusters, stellar photometry and the Hubble Space Telescope.

Career Ivan Robert King was born on June 25, 1927, in Queens, New York, the son of Myram King and Anne née Franzblau. He was awarded an academic scholarship to Lawrence Woodmere Academy, where he completed his elementary and secondary schooling.

Structures of globular clusters In 1966 King published a series of papers on the dynamical models of globular clusters. The models were based on the Fokker–Planck equation and represented the simplest possible static dynamic models of motions. These "King model" papers have been cited on over 2,000 papers subsequently.

Photometry King's PhD thesis was devoted to developing stellar photometry standards. This formed the basis for the study of globular clusters.

Hubble Space Telescope King played an early role in the conception and build of the Faint Object Camera. He used this camera to study globular clusters, including Andromeda Galaxy.

Personal life In 1952 King married Alice Greene, with whom he had four children. He divorced in 1982 and married Judy Schultz in 2002.

He died on August 31, 2021, from complications following a surgery, at the age of 94.