DALTON, JOHN. - Chemist, b. at Eaglesfield (Cumberland) on 6 September 1766, d. at Manchester on 27 July 1844. Of a poor family, he earned his living by giving lessons as an elementary school teacher; he studied mathematics and physics on his own; he never held public or notable positions: his life is characterized by great modesty and a lively passion for study; one of his biographers says that "he was a model of virtue without ostentation and of religion without fanaticism."
He is to be regarded as the founder of the modern atomic theory on an experimental basis: to him is owed the law of multiple proportions (1802-1808; v. CHIMICA) and, through his influence, Proust's law of constant proportions (1799-1806). The genesis of his ideas is to be found in the studies of his friend Henry (1744-1836) on the influence of pressure on the solubility of gases in liquids. The work in which he entrusted the exposition of his doctrine is the New System of chemical philosophy (3 vols., Manchester 1808, 1810 and 1827); while its diffusion is owed, besides to its truth and fruitfulness, to the eloquent manner in which it was popularized by his friend T. Thomson (1773-1852).
Bibliography2 worksA. Eymieu, La part des savants dans les progrès de la science au XIXe siècle, part 1st, Paris 1920, pp. 189 and 194; M. Giua, Storia della c
BIBL.: A. Eymieu, La part des savants dans les progrès de la science au XIXe siècle, part 1st, Paris 1920, pp. 189 and 194; M. Giua, Storia della chimica, Turin 1946, p. 97.
Provenzal, Giulio. “Dalton, john.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. IV, col. 1128. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1950. https://azioneromana.com/article/dalton-john.
MLA
Provenzal, Giulio. “Dalton, john.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. IV, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1950, col. 1128. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/dalton-john.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec4_dalton_john,
author = {Provenzal, Giulio},
title = {Dalton, john},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {IV},
pages = {1128},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1950},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/dalton-john}
}
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