John Dalton’s exact date of birth is unsure due to his father being a devout Quaker, but we believe it was September 6th, 1766. His family was poor so couldn’t quench his desire for knowledge. He grew up in and attended a Quaker school. Due to his Quaker beliefs, it excluded him from being part of other universities such as Oxford. But he finished his school experience on a high note.
He taught mathematics and natural philosophy in the Quaker school at age twelve, then started working at a farm but later returned to teaching. Within four years he became principal of the school. After that, in 1793 he became a tutor for New College in Manchester.
His friend John Gough, who was a blind philosopher and got him interested in meteorology in 1787. This caused him to keep a journal of the weather for the next fifty-seven years. As he continued his investigation with weather atmosphere it eventually lead him to experiment with gases. The experiment was published to explain his new atomic theory. He came up with 5 new rules for the atom.
He taught mathematics and natural philosophy in the Quaker school at age twelve, then started working at a farm but later returned to teaching. Within four years he became principal of the school. After that, in 1793 he became a tutor for New College in Manchester.
His friend John Gough, who was a blind philosopher and got him interested in meteorology in 1787. This caused him to keep a journal of the weather for the next fifty-seven years. As he continued his investigation with weather atmosphere it eventually lead him to experiment with gases. The experiment was published to explain his new atomic theory. He came up with 5 new rules for the atom.
- All matter is made of atom.
- Atoms of one element are identical and different from those of other elements.
- Atoms cannot be created, subdivided or destroyed
- Atoms can be combined in whole number ratios to form compounds
- In a chemical reaction, atom are separated, combined or rearranged