Kazimierz Funk

Kazimierz Funk was a Polish and naturalized-American biochemist who is widely credited with being the first to formulate the concept of vitamins in 1912. He coined the term "vitamine" from the words "vital amine", as he believed that these substances were essential for life and contained nitrogen. He isolated the first vitamin, thiamine (B1), from rice bran and showed that it could prevent beriberi, a disease caused by its deficiency. He also hypothesized that other diseases, such as scurvy, pellagra, and rickets, could be cured by vitamins. He published his findings in a book titled The Vitamines in 1912. He worked at various institutions, such as the Pasteur Institute, the Lister Institute, and the Funk Foundation for Medical Research. He also conducted research on hormones, diabetes, peptic ulcers, and cancer. He died of heart failure in Albany, New York, at the age of 83.