Bicentenary of atomic weights John Dalton presented chemistry milestone 200 years ago today. 21 October 2003 PHILIP BALL Dalton was the first to draw chemical elements. © SPL Two hundred years ago today, British chemist John Dalton helped turn chemistry into an exact science. He presented his Table of Atomic Weights at the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Dalton (1766-1844) is widely regarded as the founder of the idea that all matter is made of tiny, indivisible particles called atoms. Although atoms were proposed 2500 years ago in ancient Greece, Dalton's work made them an indispensable part of chemical theory....