Vitamin B-12, megaloblastic madness, and the founding of Duke University

When James D. Duke died in 1925, he had left $19 million to build Duke University. He died from pernicious anemia, a vitamin B-12 deficiency. The author gives evidence that Duke made his gift when he was brain damaged and depressed from a vitamin B-12 deficiency, that he donated the money in an attempt to relieve guilt feelings.