Dalton is best known for his work as a chemist, meteorologist and physicist and his research into atomic theory and color blindness have made him a well respected name in the world of science and chemistry.
John Dalton was an English chemist who lived between 1766 and 1844. Born into a Quaker family in the northern English county of Cumberland, Dalton initially considered a career in law as well as medicine, but his choices were not favored by his family. He went on to move to the north western city of Manchester, where he became a mathematics teacher at the city's university, but his career was cut short as the college relieved him of his duties thanks to cost cutting measures, which lead to him quitting his post and becoming a private tutor.
It was whilst he was working in Manchester that he carried out his first studies in the area of color blindness, stating in a paper that the discoloration of the liquid in the eyeball could cause a shortage in color perception . This was revolutionary at the time of his writing as the condition was pretty much unrecognized amongst sufferers.
In 1800, again whilst in Manchester, Dalton wrote a number of papers on the constitution of mixed gases and the pressure of steam and other gases at a range of temperatures.
It was Dalton's atomic theory that was so revolutionary for its time. His theory observed a number of major factors and how elements were made up from millions of tiny atoms. It was Dalton that came to the conclusion that atoms could not be divided or destroyed and a chemical reaction would only change the way atoms are grouped together.
John Dalton was an English chemist who lived between 1766 and 1844. Born into a Quaker family in the northern English county of Cumberland, Dalton initially considered a career in law as well as medicine, but his choices were not favored by his family. He went on to move to the north western city of Manchester, where he became a mathematics teacher at the city's university, but his career was cut short as the college relieved him of his duties thanks to cost cutting measures, which lead to him quitting his post and becoming a private tutor.
It was whilst he was working in Manchester that he carried out his first studies in the area of color blindness, stating in a paper that the discoloration of the liquid in the eyeball could cause a shortage in color perception . This was revolutionary at the time of his writing as the condition was pretty much unrecognized amongst sufferers.
In 1800, again whilst in Manchester, Dalton wrote a number of papers on the constitution of mixed gases and the pressure of steam and other gases at a range of temperatures.
It was Dalton's atomic theory that was so revolutionary for its time. His theory observed a number of major factors and how elements were made up from millions of tiny atoms. It was Dalton that came to the conclusion that atoms could not be divided or destroyed and a chemical reaction would only change the way atoms are grouped together.