John Dalton developed atomic theory in the early 1800s based on careful chemical measurements. The main postulates of Dalton's atomic theory were that matter is composed of very tiny indivisible particles called atoms, atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties, and atoms of different elements have different properties and combine in small whole number ratios. While some aspects have been updated, Dalton's atomic theory of atoms as the basic building blocks of matter remains valid in modern chemistry.