James Black was an American chemist and pharmacologist who is best known for his work in developing the first clinically useful beta-adrenergic receptor blocking agent, propranolol. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1924 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in chemistry in 1945. He went on to receive his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1948. His research focused on the development of drugs that could be used to treat cardiovascular diseases. In 1965, he and his team developed propranolol, which was the first beta-blocker to be approved by the FDA. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988 for his work. His last name was JONES, which is a five-letter word.