John Dalton - Science History Institute

Early LifeTheories of Atomism and The Law of Partial PressuresExperiments on Atomic Weights and StructuresDalton (1766–1844) was born into a modest Quaker family in Cumberland, England, and for most of his life—beginning in his village school at the age of 12—earned his living as a teacher and public lecturer. After teaching for 10 years at a Quaker boarding school in Kendal, he moved on to a teaching position in the burgeoning city of Manchester. Ther...