Jhon Dalton

John Dalton was a born September 6, 1766 in Eagelsfield, Cumbria in England, but spent most of his life in Manchester. He was a British Chemist and physicist. He was the son of Weaver and he received his early education from his father. At the age of 12 Dalton began teaching at Quacker School in his native town. In 1781 he moved to Kendal, where he conducted a school with his cousin and his elder brother. He then went to Manchester in 1793 and spent the rest of his life in Manchester as a teacher, first at New College, and later as a private tutor. Dalton suffered a minor stroke in 1837, and a second one in 1838 left him with a speech impediment, though he remained able to do experiments. In May 1844 he had yet another stroke; on 26 July he recorded with trembling hand his last meteorological observation. On 27 July, in Manchester, Dalton fell from his bed and was found lifeless by his attendant. Approximately 40,000 people filed by his coffin as it was laid in state in the Manchester Town Hall. He was buried in Manchester in Ardwick cemetery. The cemetery is now a playing field, but pictures of the original grave are in published materials. Dalton was a life long bachelor.

Daltons First Major Step to the Atomic Theory

Daltons fascination with science included a intense interest in meteorology. Starting in 1793 John kept careful daily weather records for 46 years. The meteorology study here led Dalton to a interest in the gases of the air and their ultimate components. This interest of gases led to Daltons discovery of the Atomic Theory

Dalton's Discovery

John Dalton was a humble man with several apparent handicaps: he was poor, he was not articulate, he was not a skilled experimentalist, and he was color blind. These disadvantages are a terrible problem for a chemist, but in spite of these Dalton made his most important contribution to science called the atomic theory. Dalton was the first to prepare a table of relative atomic weights. He only