The Development of the Atomic Theory

  • Democritus
    492 BCE

    Democritus

    He developed the concept of the atom.
  • Aristotle
    332 BCE

    Aristotle

    Developed theory that everything is made of matter.
  • Alchemy
    1400

    Alchemy

    A medieval version of chemistry that was considered witchcraft by most. Alchemy talked about elements relative to real chemicals.
  • Columbus Arrives in America
    1492

    Columbus Arrives in America

    He killed a bunch of people and did nothing for the Atomic Model.
  • American Revolution

    American Revolution

    America fought and argued to free themselves from Britain.
  • John Dalton

    John Dalton

    Developed a theory that all matter is made up of atoms and all atoms are the same size.
  • Robert Boyle

    Robert Boyle

    Replaced Aristotle's idea of the four elements with the idea that elements cannot be broken down into other compounds.
  • American Civil War

    American Civil War

    A war between the Union and Confederacy.
  • Dmitri Mendeleev

    Dmitri Mendeleev

    Organized Periodic Table by relative atomic mass.
  • J. J. Thomson

    J. J. Thomson

    Discovered the electron.
  • Robert Millikan

    Robert Millikan

    Discovered the negative charge in electrons.
  • Ernest Rutherford

    Ernest Rutherford

    Discovered that atoms have a nucleus and that the weight is in the nucleus. He also discovered protons and that they have a positive charge.
  • Hans Geiger

    Hans Geiger

    Worked with Ernest Rutherford on his discovery of the nucleus.
  • Niels Bohr

    Niels Bohr

    Created a model with neutrons and protons in the nucleus and electrons on shelves around the nucleus.
  • World War I

    World War I

    An assassination of an Austrian Archduke led to a worldwide war, "The War to End All Wars"(not).
  • James Chadwick

    James Chadwick

    Discovered neutrons and their weight.
  • World War II

    World War II

    Germany attacked Poland and the war started. US aligned themselves with Poland and a huge war lasted six years.
  • Hiroshima

    Hiroshima

    The US dropped atomic bombs on Japan.