Charles King

     Charles King was born on 16 March 1789 in New York City, New York.^2,3 He was the son of Rufus King and Mary Alsop.¹ He married first Eliza Gracie, daughter of Archibald Gracie, circa 1808.¹ He married second Henrietta Liston Low on 20 October 1826.¹ He died on 27 September 1867 in Frascati, Italy, at age 78.^1,2
     
     Charles King was educated at Harrow, England, and in Paris, France, and became a clerk in the banking house of Hope & Company in Amsterdam, Holland. He returned to the United States in 1806, and entered the employ of Archibald Gracie, a merchant, whose partner he became in 1810, and whose daughter he married. He was elected to the New York assembly in 1813, and although opposed to the war of 1812, enlisted as a volunteer and commanded a regiment in 1814. He was abroad in the interest of his business, 1815-17, and in 1823 the firm failed, whereupon he purchased an interest in the "New York American," and thus became associated with Johnston Verplanck in publishing a conservative newspaper. Verplanck retired in 1827 and Mr. King became editor and sole proprietor, and made a notable innovation in political journalism by introducing a literary and review department. In 1845 he became an editor of the "Courier and Enquirer," which absorbed the "American." He was elected president of Columbia College in 1849, as successor to Nathaniel F. Moore, resigned. During his administration several movements toward university extension were made, among them, in 1857, a graduate school which continued for one year. The Columbia Law School was founded in 1858, the medical school, which had been discontinued in 1810, was re-established in 1858, and the School of Mines began in 1863. He was a trustee of Columbia College, 1825-38, and again, 1849-67. He resigned the presidency in 1865 on account of ill-health, and visited Europe with the intention of remaining abroad several years. He received the degree of LL.D. from the College of New Jersey and from Harvard in 1850.²