John Dalton’s Debt to John Gough, the ‘Blind Philosopher’ of Kendal

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of John Gough (1757–1825), the ‘blind philosopher’ and polymath of Kendal, on the early scientific career of the physicist John Dalton FRS (1766–1844), proposer of the Atomic Theory. During Dalton’s early years in Kendal (1781–1793) Gough served as his tutor in mathematics, mentor and friend and played a significant role in Dalton’s early development as a scientist. Gough taught Dalton to record meteorological data and many facets of Gough’s ideas are found, frequently unattributed, in Dalton’s publications. His Meteorological Observations and Essays included several such ideas but failed to credit Gough by name. Several of Gough’s early experiments on the quantitative exchange of atmospheric gases during the germination and growth of plants, and his accompanying estimations of their specific gravity, clearly drew Dalton’s interest. It is his exposure to ideas like these that Dalton was later able to draw on when developing his Atomic Theory. Contributions to Dalton’s early scientific career by two further Cumbrians, Elihu Robinson (1734–1820) of Eaglesfield and Peter Crosthwaite (1735–1808) of Keswick are also mentioned where they impinge on the storyline. An apparently unpublished letter from Gough to Crosthwaite in early 1788 throws further light on the Gough-Dalton relationship.