John Dalton was born in the Lake District in 1766 and came to Manchester to teach maths at the Academy which stood where the Peace Garden can be found. He lived at various addresses nearby, in what is now Chinatown.

Dalton conducted experiments with gases at the Literary and Philosophical Society’s rooms in George Street (the last of Ford Madox Brown’s murals in the Town Hall depictss him and his assistant gathering marsh gas in a pond in Old Trafford), and there devised his ground-breaking atomic theory.  But what was the practical application? In Manchester, within a generation, cotton merchants were creating new cloths dyed with colours formed using Dalton’s calculations – cloth that didn’t run in the wash, and helped Manchester secure its place as the world centre for cotton production and manufacture. Dalton also devised new theories about the weather and colourblindness, the word for which, in some European languages, uses his name.

On the John Dalton walk, we explore the man behind the maths and molecules, recalling his haunts and habitats around Manchester.

There is no charge for this walk. Numbers will be limited to 20 people, so please register in advance. You can do this at any time before the Congress by emailing tours@ichstm2013.com with your details; or you can sign up in person at the Congress Events Desk.

Please arrange your own travel to the Visitor Information Centre.