Rutherford as a student in 1892
http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/11/9/8/1/world-11-9-8-1
Ernest Rutherford was a nuclear
physicist who has become know as the “father of nuclear physics.”
He was born August 30, 1871 in Nelson, New Zealand to James and Martha
Rutherford. As for as early education is concerned, Rutherford
attended Government schooling. He won a scholarship to attend
Nelson Collegiate School, and he entered the school at the age of
16. From there he proceeded to Canterbury College. It was
noted my the faculty that Rutherford was a very likeable study, but at
Canterbury he did not show any signs of superior intelligence in his
studies. He continued his education with post graduate studies in
the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. This is
were the genius of Rutherford began to take hold. He briefly held
the world record for the distance that electromagnetic waves could be
detected. He also invented a devise that could detect such
electromagnetic waves. Most importantly, while studying at
Cambridge Rutherford discovered and labeled alpha, beta, and gamma
particles.