Final answer:
The earliest known speculation on the atom dates back to the fifth century B.C., but evidence to make scientists reconsider the idea of atoms didn't emerge until the early 1800s. Our modern understanding of the atom's structure has been developed through the contributions of various scientists.
Step-by-step explanation:
The earliest known speculation on the atom dates back to the fifth century B.C., when Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus contemplated whether a substance could be divided without limit into ever smaller pieces. However, it wasn't until the early 1800s that evidence amassed to make scientists reconsider the idea of atoms. Since then, our understanding of the structure of the atom has evolved through the contributions of scientists such as John Dalton, Amadeo Avogadro, and Dmitri Mendeleev.