PREFACE 



The life of Dalton has already been written, but chemical 

 literature seemed to demand a more minute history of 

 the atomic theory up to his time, without at all dis- 

 paraging the valuable history of chemistry by Dr. Kopp, 

 or the work of Dr. Daubeny, which treats principally 

 of the more modem part. For this and reasons else- 

 where mentioned, I have made . the distinctive feature of 

 the volume the history of our ideas of matter bearing on 

 modem chemistry, until the time when Dalton flourished. 

 There is a short memoir which breaks off at the fourth 

 chapter, <yt the time when Dalton first published on atoms, 

 in order to begin the general history, which again leads 

 to Dalton at the eleventh chapter. 



Mr. James Woolley 'was kind enough to lend me 

 all the papers relating to Dalton which he possessed, 

 together with his own MS. memoir, and Mr. Giles, 

 with similar kindness, lent me the memoir which he 

 had written. Dr. Henry's volume also has not been 



