John Dalton was a chemist born in Eaglesfield, England on September 6, 1766. His father was a weaver who owned a house and small bit of land. As for religion, both his parents were Quakers. Though they were Christians, the highly regarded Church of England saw the people in the religion as nonconformists. Resulting from this, Dalton’s education was restricted to “dissenting places of education” (Famous Scientists). From a young age he was intelligent and attended the village school until he was 11. Then he started helping as a teacher. When he was only 15 he assisted his brother to run a Quaker boarding school in Kendal, a town 40 miles from home. Even while teaching others, he continued learning science, math, and languages. At the age of
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Within these lectures he discussed his research on gases and liquids. This research gave remarkable new insight into the nature of gases. Thus became know as the Atomic Theory. The Atomic Theory states that: “all matter is made up of atoms which are indivisible and indestructible, all atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties, compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different kinds of atoms, and a chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms” (Atomic Theory). Though most of this theory has held true we now know that atoms of the same element can have different masses and that atoms can be destroyed or subdivided in nuclear reactions. In 1803, Dalton published his Law of Partial Pressures, which states that in “a mixture of non-reacting gases, the total pressure is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of the individual gases” (Famous). His interest in gases led him to the study of atoms. In 1808 he published A New System of Chemical Philosophy, which contained Dalton’s Law. Dalton’s Law states that “if two elements form more than one compound between them, then the ratios of the masses of the second element which combine with a fixed mass of the first element will be ratios of small whole numbers”
Within these lectures he discussed his research on gases and liquids. This research gave remarkable new insight into the nature of gases. Thus became know as the Atomic Theory. The Atomic Theory states that: “all matter is made up of atoms which are indivisible and indestructible, all atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties, compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different kinds of atoms, and a chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms” (Atomic Theory). Though most of this theory has held true we now know that atoms of the same element can have different masses and that atoms can be destroyed or subdivided in nuclear reactions. In 1803, Dalton published his Law of Partial Pressures, which states that in “a mixture of non-reacting gases, the total pressure is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of the individual gases” (Famous). His interest in gases led him to the study of atoms. In 1808 he published A New System of Chemical Philosophy, which contained Dalton’s Law. Dalton’s Law states that “if two elements form more than one compound between them, then the ratios of the masses of the second element which combine with a fixed mass of the first element will be ratios of small whole numbers”