Eric Pelham

John Dalton, Bohr, and JJ Thomson were the main people to develop the atom.

John Dalton described many essays to try and help him come up with the perfect theory of the atom.
But Bohr made contributions to the atomic structure and came up with quantum mechanics. He monitored and study with other scientists to help him better understand the atom.
Also JJ Thomson is credited for the discovery of the electron and of isotopes. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the electron.

These people were all different because they spent tons of hours researching and coming up with theories until they believed that they found the right answer. Others studied for a little while but eventually gave up. These people had the drive and determination to come up with this theory.

Many people in this time period did not have a lot of money. So in order to do this research they most likely had to come up with their own tools and equipment to help them get farther along in their research. They also did not grow up in a time period that had alot of things to help them with their studies. For them to come up with this is amazing with the little equipment they had back in that time period.

We still consider the atomic theory a theory because no one has fully proven it. They have come fairly close but have not gotten to full truth yet.

You should understand the structure of the atom so that we know how things work. If you understand what an atom is composed of and how it works it makes your job easier whether your trying to come up with an experiment or just wanting to understand an atom.