John Dalton

Chemist

Birthday September 6, 1766

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace Eaglesfield, England

DEATH DATE Jul 27, 1844 (77)

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About

English chemist and physicist who pioneered research in the field of atomic theory. He also studied color blindness and was one of the first to recognize the condition as being hereditary.

Before Fame

His first publication, "Meteorological Observations and Essays" (1793), was greatly influenced by his early study with the Quaker meteorologist, Elihu Robinson.

Trivia

He suffered from color blindness and researched the condition extensively and, as a result, color blindness is sometimes called "Daltonism," in his honor.

Family Life

He never married or had children, and he lived a modest Quaker lifestyle.

Associated With

After many of Dalton's original manuscripts were lost during World War II, the writer Isaac Asimov remarked that people were not the only war-time casualties.