John Dalton

Mid-18th century England was tumultuous. Maybe not immediately obvious to the citizenry, but a time and place pivotal to human advancement: the inception of the Industrial Revolution. A conjunction of global trade facilitated by an empire, social evolution, scientific breakthroughs, self-taught engineers, and the recent existence of a few geniuses combined to propel our species forwards. For the first time in millennia, wealth not only grew but propagated, albeit unevenly. Populations grew, too. The most significant event since we adopted agriculture, domesticating plants and animals, some historians affirm.

The intention here is not to provide a potted history, although the galactic perspective of the Intelligence, an observer of these developments, is summarised in Jimbo’s Assumption. Please check it out.

Rather, it is to focus on events after 1766 CE, the year of John Dalton’s birth. Not a trader, an industrialist, a politician, or an aristocrat, this modest scientist addressed more fundamental and enduring questions. Born into a Quaker family in Cumberland, he began assisting an elder brother with supervising a school while barely into his teens. Concurrently, he gained two mentors, learning Latin, Greek, and mathematics. He acquired their meteorological curiosity, a life-long interest, that brought him practical skills, including instrument-making and meticulous record keeping. Meantime, he continued teaching.

Meteorology led him to ponder the composition of the atmosphere and the behaviour of gases. Contrary to commonly held opinion, he asserted that air was a mixture of elements, principally nitrogen and oxygen, rather than a specific chemical compound. Later, Dalton was proved correct.

A move in 1793 CE to Manchester, a rapidly expanding industrial conurbation, to teach and tutor mathematics, preceded his signature contribution.

Dalton promoted an atomic theory, claiming that each element possessed a characteristic atom, a fundamental unit that differed in size and mass from other elements. A controversial notion at a time when many doubted the existence of minute, unseen particles, while others considered that the existence of distinct, identifiable atoms ran counter to their belief in nature’s underlying simplicity. Evidence, rather than faith, was Dalton’s preference. He proceeded to measure atomic masses referenced against the hydrogen atom. Later published, these results provided a foundation for researchers over the subsequent century, ultimately leading to our present-day understanding of matter.

Described early in his career as a Father of Meteorology, and later as the Father of Chemistry, the source of his atomic intuition remains opaque.

During his life, James Watt’s improved steam engine emerged, and George Stephenson’s locomotive powered the world’s first inter-city passenger service, connecting Liverpool and Manchester.

Dalton was a phenomenon, a sage living in exceptional times.

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