Dalton and the atoms

John Dalton was a happy man. He had always wanted to teach, although in the 18th century, this was somewhat unusual for someone from his social status. He was born as the son of a weaver who owned a small piece of land, and like many children of his era, John had to work from the very early age. However, he finally had made it: Since a couple of years, or, to be more precise, since the year 1793, he finally had a position as a lecturer of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the New Col-lege of Manchester. Shortly after his appointment, he also had become a member to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, one of the eminent English scientific societies in the late 18th century. Dalton liked it to lecture, actually he had already begun to teach at the age of twelve in a local school. But he also loved science, and his new position offered him the opportunity to combine both his passions. ...

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A Primary Sources

Dalton, John: A New System of Chemical Philosophy I 1808, online available:http://archive.org/details/newsystemofchemi01daltuoft.
Dalton, John: A New System of Chemical Philosophy II 1827, online available:http://archive.org/details/newsystemofchemi02daltuoft.
Dalton, John et. al.: Foundations of the Atomic Theory 1893, online available:https://archive.org/details/ost-chemistry-foundations_of_the_atomic_theory.

B Secondary Sources

Baxter, Roberta: John Dalton and the Development of Atomic Theory, Greensboro, N.C. 2013.

Fernandez, Bernard: Unravelling the Mystery of the Atomic Nucleus: A Sixty Year Journey 1896 - 1956, New York, NY 2013.
MacDonnell, John J.: The Concept of an Atom from Democritus to John Dalton, Lewiston u.a. 1992.
Patterson, Elizabeth C.: John Dalton and the Atomic Theory: The Biography of a Natural Philosopher, Garden City, NY, Anchor Books Ed. 1970.
Roscoe, Henry Enfield: John Dalton and the Rise of Modern Chemistry 1895.
Roscoe, Henry Enfield/Harden, Arthur: A New View of the Origin of Dalton’s Atomic Theory, New York, NY u.a., Repr.  1896, 1970.
Thackray, Arnold: John Dalton; Critical Assessments of his Life and Science, Cambridge 1972.

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