[2] He was born in London as the youngest of 8 children to a family of steel merchants from Leeds.

[3][4][5][6][7] In 1905, he was one of the first scientists to successfully synthesise adrenaline in the laboratory (see: History of catecholamine research).

In the process, he analyzed more than 200 candidate substances, and developed quantitative methods to evaluate their effectiveness for disinfection and wound healing.

1) was created, in part, to promote the Carrel–Dakin method:[9] "The war demonstration hospital of the Rockefeller Institute was planned as a school in which to teach military surgeons the principles of and art of applying the Carrel-Dakin treatment.

"After he married the widow of Christian Herter in 1916, he worked in his private laboratory in Scarsdale, New York and had several close collaborations with other scientists.