Dalton, John

Dalton, John (1766-1844), scientist, b. Eaglesfield, Cumberland, England.

John Dalton was the son of a weaver.

He left the village school at the age of eleven and taught in it from twelve to fourteen.

Afterwards he taught for a time in Kendal and then he moved to Manchester. There he began to give private lessons and this allowed him to carry on with his work in science.

Starting at the age of twenty-one, Dalton kept a record of the weather for fifty-seven years, writing in all 200,000 notes.

He was color blind and one of his earliest projects was a study of this affliction.

Later he made a study of gases and stated certain laws such as Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures. These laws are important to students of chemistry today.

In 1803 he put forward his atomic theory that atoms are tiny particles and all substances are made of them.

He also said that an atom could not be divided and in this he was wrong. Yet his theory provided a basis for chemists to work on in later years.

Today scientists think of Dalton as one of the greatest thinkers to have ever lived.