Abel, Sir Frederick Augustus (1827–1902) British chemist Abel was born in London, the son of a well-known musician and the grandson of a court painter to the grand duke of Mecklenberg-Schwerin. Despite this artistic background, Abel developed an early interest in science after visiting his uncle A.  J. Abel, a mineralogist and pupil of Berzelius. In 1845 he was one of the first of the pupils to study at the Royal College of Chemistry under August von Hofmann, remaining there until 1851. After a brief appointment as a chemical demonstrator at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, he succeeded Michael Faraday in 1852 as a lecturer in chemistry at the Royal Military ...