His First Published Work Was Meteorological Observations and Essays

Robinson and Gough, two of Dalton's most influential teachers, were amateur meteorologists who sparked John Dalton's interest in meteorology, the scientific study of the atmosphere. In 1787, Dalton began keeping a meteorological notebook, in which he recorded almost 200,000 observations over the next 57 years. At the age of 27, Dalton published his first publication, Meteorological Observations and Essays, in 1793. Despite the fact that it received little attention, it offered insightful observations and novel concepts.

Dalton's daily meteorological observations were the basis for the book, which he kept up until the day before his death. The book was one of the first of its sort, and it helped to establish meteorology as a legitimate scientific study, earning Dalton the title of "Father of Meteorology" from John Frederic Daniell, a contemporary of Dalton's. Dalton's very personal reliance on his own empirical investigation was also highlighted in the book. "Having been so often misled in my progress by taking for granted the results of others, I have determined to write as little as possible but that I can attest by my own experience," he wrote, “having been in my progress so often misled by taking for granted the results of others, I have determined to write as little as possible but that I can attest by my own experience.”