ROGER J. WILLIAMS

Pioneer in Biochemistry, Nutrition, Biochemical Individuality, and Public Education

Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, 1939 to 1986
Founded and directed the Clayton Foundation Biochemical Institute, 1941 to 1963
Discovered the B-vitamin, Pantothenic Acid, and concentrated and named Folic Acid

        Wrote 21 books and nearly 300 articles
        Elected to the National Academy of Sciences, 1946
        President of the American Chemical Society, 1957

Other Institute discoveries of public interest: Two of the three forms of vitamin B6, lipoic acid, avidin, folinic acid, synthesis of vitamin B12, and pioneering work on inositol.

After his discovery of pantothenic acid and the successful launching of the Clayton Foundation Biochemical Institute in 1940, Williams turned much of his attention to educating the public and the medical profession about the importance of nutrition and biochemical individuality. His books such as Nutrition Against Disease, Biochemical Individuality, The Wonderful World Within You, and The Prevention of Alcoholism had wide impact. They helped inspire the current explosion of nutrition research, and they strongly influenced many prominent leaders such Linus Pauling, Wayne Jonas (former director, NIH Office of Alternative Medicine), Jonathan Wright, Alan Gaby, Abram Hoffer, Jeffrey Bland, Carl Pfeiffer, and Hugh D. Riordan.

Williams’s writings remain popular today, because of his deep insight into basic principles, his originality, and his clear writing. Two books were reissued in 1998, and some older books are still available. Here we list all his books, sources for those available, and tables of contents and introductions for many. We also list his scientific and lay articles and offer reprints or copies. We hope you enjoy these and other features, some of which are under construction. Please drop us an e-mail with any comments or suggestions about this site.

Biographies

Books

Articles

Photos

Words Coined

Sampler of Roger J. Williams

NutriCircle Food Diagrams

Bedtime Poem  NEW.GIF (641 bytes)

Alcoholism Writings  NEW.GIF (641 bytes)

What’s New & Coming  NEW.GIF (641 bytes)

Donations and Bequests

This site is maintained by Donald R. Davis, d.r.davis@mail.utexas.edu, Biochemical Institute A5100, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-0163. Last updated: May 13, 2003