Biography

Ernest Rutherford. from Wikpedia. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871 in Nelson, New Zealand. ^[1] He was the son of James Rutherford, a Scottish wheelwright who immigrated to New Zealand in 1842, and Martha Rutherford (née Thompson), an English schoolteacher who immigrated to New Zealand in 1855. The couple had 12 children total, of which Ernest was the fourth child. ^[2]

In 1893, Rutherford graduated from Canterbury College with a M.A in Mathematics and Physical Science. He earned his B.S a year after by doing independent research. ^[3]

In 1894, Rutherford won a scholarship allowing him to attend the University of Cambridge. There, he worked as a research student under J.J Thomson in the Cavendish Laboratory. ^[4] During this time, he worked on developing a magnetic detector (a device he had begun working on when he was in New Zealand). Eventually, he developed a device that was able to detect magnetic waves from over half of a mile away. Also, during his time in Cambridge, Rutherford began to study radiation in uranium. ^[5]

In 1898, Rutherford moved to Canada to teach physics at McGill University in Montreal. It was during this time that he married Mary Newton, whom he remained married to until his death. The couple had one daughter, Eileen Rutherford. ^[6]

While in Canada, Rutherford also continued to study radiation in uranium, and discovered that there were two types of radiation, which he named alpha and beta rays. ^[7] In 1902 Frederick Soddy and Rutherford proposed the theory of radioactive change.  Rutherford’s time in Montreal was very productive, and he published between forty and fifty papers. ^[8]

In 1907, Rutherford returned to England to teach physics at the University of Manchester. In 1908 he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry. ^[9] In 1909 Rutherford, Hans Geiger, and Ernest Marsden performed the famous foil experiment, which was instrumental in developing the current model of an atom. During his last year at Manchester, Rutherford became the first person to deliberately transmute one element into another. ^[10]

 In 1919 he returned to the University of Cambridge, this time as a professor of physics.  Rutherford remained in Cambridge until his death, on October 19, 1937. ^[11]