Early Life of John Dalton
John Dalton was born on September 5th or 6th, 1766. Some records disagree. Joseph and Deborah Greenup Dalton were his parents. He was born in Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, England. John had an older brother named Jonathan and a younger sister named Mary. John and Jonathan often helped their father weave and work in the fields. The boys attended the local Quaker school where they learned English, arithmetic, the Bible, and a little geography and history. Dalton was a great student and received additional tutoring in science. Dalton showed that he was very interested in learning at about 13 years old. Because there were a little amount of teachers, Dalton took over a local school at the age of 12 when the schoolmaster that was in charge before retired. However, he was unable to control some of the students. They were older than him and very rowdy. They were resistant to listening to rules given from a younger boy. After one year, Dalton worked around town doing odd jobs. His father was a cloth weaver and a member of the Society of Friends. (Quakers). Quakers believed that man had control over his own salvation, in pacifism, plain dress and speech, and equality of men and women in education and in the ministry. At the age of 15, John's brother asked him to come to Kendal to tutor at a boarding school. It was owned by one of their cousins. After a few years, their cousin left the school, and John and Jonathan served as joint principals. He taught there for a total of 12 years on a variety of subjects.