Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time, for news about In Our Time, and

for recommendations about our archive, please follow us on Twitter at BBC In Our Time.

I hope you enjoyed the programs.

Hello, in 1766 John Dalton was born in Cumberland.

He was the son of a weaver, and for a time worked as an agricultural labourer.

But despite his relatively humble social background and little formal schooling, he became one

of the leading scientists of his day.

And about Quaker, his scientific interests were wide ranging.

He investigated meteorology, colour blindness, and the height of hills and lake district.

Through his public lectures and experiments, he brought his research and other scientists

to a large audience here and in Europe.

His perhaps most noted, though, for his development of an early version of atomic theory.

When he died in 1844, an estimated 40,000 people in Manchester filed past his coffin to

pay their respects.

He had me to discuss the life and career of John Dalton.

Jim Bennett, former director of the Museum of the History of Science at the University

of Oxford, and keeper emeritus at the Science Museum.

Aileen Fife, reader in British history at the University of St Andrews, and James Sumner,

lecturer in history of technology at the Centre for the History of Science Technology

and Medicine at the University of Manchester.

Jim Bennett, what do we know about John Dalton's family background, the early years?

Well, it was a modest background, certainly.

...