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Elizabeth Osborne King (October 12, 1912 – April 8, 1966) was an American microbiologist who discovered and described bacteria of medical importance at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the late 1940s through the early 1960s.The genera Kingella and Elizabethkingia and the species Kingella kingae are named to honor her for her pioneering work.
Born on October 12, 1912 in Atlanta, Georgia she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology at the University of Georgia in 1935, and her Master of Science degree in Medical Technology at Emory University in 1938 with her thesis, The Effect of New Antimalarial Drugs on Avian Malaria.
In 1943 she joined the Women's Army Corps and served as a commissioned officer during World War II at Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland. After the war, she worked at the Emory University Hospital from 1946 to 1948, and then joined the staff of the recently founded U.S. Communicable Disease Center, now known as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she spent the rest of her professional life.
King died on April 8, 1966 in Atlanta, where she is interred in Oakland Cemetery.
In 1970, the Southeastern Branch of the American Society for Microbiology established the Elizabeth O. King Award for significant contributions in the field of medical microbiology.
