Definition of Daltonism

Daltonism: Colorblindness of the red-green type (also known as deuteranopia or deuteranomaly).

The term "Daltonism" is derived from the name of the chemist and physicist, John Dalton (1766-1844). Dalton was born in a village in Cumberland, England where his father, Joseph, was a weaver. He was educated by his father and John Fletcher, teacher in a Quaker school. When Fletcher retired in 1778, Dalton took his place. In 1793 he was appointed teacher of mathematics and natural philosophy at New College in Manchester. In 1803 he put forth the facts embodied in his law of partial pressures: the pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of the pressures which would be exerted separately by the several constituents if each alone were present.

Dalton described his and his brother's affliction of colorblindness with defective perception of red and green in the first scientific paper he published. It was entitled "Extraordinary facts relating to the vision of colours, with observation" (Mem Literary Philos Soc Manchester 5: 28-45, 1798). It is the first recognized account of red-green colorblindness.

Red-green colorblindness: A form of colorblindness in which red and green are perceived as identical. This is the most common type of colorblindness. It is inherited in an X-linked recessive manner and affects 6% of males. It is also known as deutan colorblindness, deuteranopia, and Daltonism.

Color blindness

Types and the worlds of color blindness