Describe the evolution of the atomic theory over time

Although the idea of the atom was first suggested by Democritus in the fourth century BC, his suppositions were not useful in explaining chemical phenomena, because there was no experimental evidence to support them. It was not until the late 1700's that early chemists began to explain chemical behavior in terms of the atom. Joseph Priestly, Antoine Lavoisier, and others set the stage for the foundation of chemistry. They demonstrated that substances could combine to form new materials. It was the English chemist, John Dalton, who put the pieces of the puzzle together and developed an atomic theory in 1803.