Summarised by Centrist
Donald Trump’s inaugural address as the 47th US president irritated New Zealanders after he claimed the United States “split the atom.”
The honour of that scientific breakthrough belongs to New Zealander Sir Ernest Rutherford, who achieved the feat in 1917 at Victoria University of Manchester, England.
Rutherford, often called the father of nuclear physics, also discovered radioactive half-life and was awarded the 1908 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
Nick Smith, mayor of Nelson, near Rutherford’s hometown, expressed disbelief at Trump’s claim and plans to invite the incoming US ambassador to visit the Rutherford memorial in Brightwater. “We can keep the historic record on who split the atom first accurate,” Smith said.
Satirist Ben Uffindell joined the outcry, quipping, “That’s THE ONE THING WE DID,” noting the cultural significance of Rutherford’s achievement in New Zealand.
Trump’s claim echoes similar remarks from a 2020 Mount Rushmore speech, where he also credited Americans with splitting the atom.
Rutherford’s pioneering work went beyond splitting the atom; his leadership at Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory contributed to further breakthroughs, including James Chadwick’s discovery of the neutron in 1932 and experiments by John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton that split the nucleus.
