Biography

John Dalton was born in Eaglesfield, England, on September 6, 1766, to a Quaker family. He had two surviving siblings. Both he and his brother were born color-blind. After attending a Quaker school in his village in Cumberland, when Dalton was just 12 years old he started teaching there. When he was 14, he spent a year working as a farmhand, but decided to return to teaching.