We suggest that one solar cycle was lost in the beginning of the Dalton min
imum because of sparse and partly unreliable sunspot observations. So far t
his cycle was combined with the preceding activity to form the exceptionall
y long solar cycle #4 in 1784-1799, leading to an irregular phase evolution
of sunspot activity (known as a phase catastrophe) and other problems. We
reanalyze the available group sunspot numbers and suggest that solar cycle
#4 was in fact a superposition of two cycles: a normal cycle in 1784-1793 e
nding at the start of the Dalton minimum and a new weak cycle in 1793-1800
which was the first full cycle within the Dalton minimum. Including the new
cycle resolves the problems mentioned above and leads to a consistent view
of sunspot activity around the Dalton minimum. Moreover. it will restore t
he Gnevyshev-Ohl rule of cycle pairing throughout the 400-year interval of
sunspot observations.