who discovered atoms

The concept of atoms was first proposed by the ancient Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus around 450 B.C., who imagined matter as being made up of indivisible particles called "atomos," meaning uncuttable. However, the modern discovery and development of atomic theory began in the early 1800s with British scientist John Dalton. Dalton discovered atoms while researching air pressure in 1804 and formulated the first modern atomic theory, describing atoms as tiny, indivisible particles that combine in fixed ratios to form compounds. Later scientific advancements refined the understanding of atoms, including discoveries by J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, and Niels Bohr about the internal structure and behavior of atoms.