John Jacob Abel the position of chair of the department until he retired at the age of 75 in 1932. Ever since his early years in Europe, Abel showed great interest in isolating pure form of internal gland hormones. The first work that led to his international reputation as a pharmacologist and biochemist was the isolation of epinephrine from adrenal medulla. However, he was only able to isolate a monobenzoyl derivative of epinephrine. While he was improving his processes on decomposing the benzoyl derivative to obtain salts of epinephrine using saponification, a Japanese chemist J. Takamine, who had visited his lab, was able
John Abel the Wye to him. In 1645, during the middle of the civil war, Abel was in Hereford when the Scots besieged it. With Charles I and his soldiers inside the city walls, mills were important to ensure the food supply lasted, and powder mills to make gunpowder. The Roundheads had burnt down the mills the town had previously owned. However, Abel was able to design and build another one. Records differ but because of this the King granted Abel the title of either Master Carpenter or the King's Carpenter. Sir Barnabus Scudamore went further in his estimation of Abel, saying