John Dalton: Critical Assessments of His Life and Science (Harvard Monographs in the History of Science)

John Dalton (1766–1844) was an archetypal “new man” of Industrial Revolution science. His life illuminates the changing social background and cultural meaning of science in the first stages of its professionalization. Arnold Thackray has searched out previously unknown documents from many archives for his study of the central aspects of Dalton’s social context and intellectual achievement. The new documentation, which settles previously disputed points of interpretation, includes the syllabus of Dalton’s 1807 lectures on chemical atomic theory, extracts from long-neglected Quaker archives, and many important letters. Acknowledgements Contents Illustrations 1. Introduction 2. John Dalton and the Wider Context 3. Chemical Atomic Theory in History and Historiography 4. The Life of a Natural Philosopher 5. A New System of Chemical Philosophy 6. Documents on Chemical Atomic Theory 7. John Dalton’s Scientific Correspondence 8. Bibliographic Essay Name Index Subject Index GREAT WITH CLEAR PROTECTIVE COVER OVER PAPER JACKET