Van King is from Skowhegan, Maine, USA. He graduated with an B.A. from the University of Maine at Orono in Earth Science. He was an environmental geologist and school teacher and returned to the State University of New York and received an M.S. in Geochemistry specializing in granite pegmatites of Newry, Maine. He entered the Ph. D. program at the State University of New York researching mica structures and synthesis and is ABD. In 1979 through 1987, he was staff mineralogist for Ward's Natural Science Establishment and then became a professional mineralogical consultant and scientific writer and continues in that capacity.
He has been a columnist and editor of Rocks and Minerals magazine and an editor for Matrix, vice-president of the Friends of Mineralogy national chapter, board member of the Canadian Micromineralogists Association, president and fellow of the Mineral Section of Rochester Academy of Science, co-chairman of the Rochester Mineralogical Symposium, founder, secretary, and vice-president of the Geoliterary Society, founder of the Systematic Mineral Dealer's Association, chairman of the Mineral Critical Areas Program. He has written, co-authored, or edited 20 mineralogical books, including Dana's System of Mineralogy, eighth edition, Mineralogy of Maine (2 volumes), Bernard and Hyrsyl's Handbook of Mineralogy, Collector's Guide to Granite Pegmatites, and Nature's Garden of Crystals. He was outside editor and contributor to volumes 4 and 5 of the Handbook of Mineralogy. He has over 250 peer reviewed articles. He has two books near completion with four others in research.