Who was John Dalton and what did he do?

Answer:

John Dalton was a British scientist who is known for his work in early atomic theory and research in colour blindness which he had.

John Dalton's work in atomic theory was actually little of his own, rather it is more of an intellectual deduction of what other chemists reported in his time. Nevertheless, Dalton is much credited with developing the first universal atomic theory, which stated:

• Elements are made of atoms
• Atoms cannot be created, destroyed or divided in chemical processes
  
• Atoms of the same element are the same
• Atoms of differing elements cannot be identical
• Atoms combine together in set ratios to form compounds

Although some points are known to be false today, Dalton's pioneer work in this field set straight many chemists later.

Dalton was also the first person to scientifically note colour blindness as a disease. Dalton had total red-green colour blindness, and wrote about it extensively in one of his papers. Furthermore, Dalton in his will wanted to have his eyes preserved in attempt to determine what caused this disorder, which was deemed to be a gene defect in 1995.

First answer by Rnp 279. Last edit by Darkdragon. Contributor trust: 72 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 75 [recommend question]