Ernest Rutherford

1871 – 1937 · died at about 66^[1][2]

Science & Invention

Fun Facts About Ernest Rutherford

• Ernest Rutherford, the "father of nuclear physics," never won a Nobel Prize in physics. His 1908 Nobel Prize was in chemistry.^[1]
• As a Cambridge postgraduate, Rutherford detected radio waves half a mile away and briefly held the world distance record, until he learned that Guglielmo Marconi had sent a message nearly 10 miles.^[1][3][4]
• Rutherford named alpha and beta radiation, and later gave a third type, discovered by Paul Villard, the name gamma ray. All three terms are still in standard use.^[1]
• In 1933 Rutherford said anyone seeking power from transforming atoms "was talking moonshine." Leó Szilárd said that speech inspired his idea of a nuclear chain reaction.^[1]
• Rutherford is buried in Westminster Abbey near Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.^{[1][5][6][7][8]}
• Rutherford's portrait has been on New Zealand's 100-dollar note since 1999, and element 104, rutherfordium, is named after him.^[1]
• Ernest Rutherford was alive at the same time as Pope Francis — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1936–1937).^{[1][2][9][10]}
• Ernest Rutherford shares a birthday with Mary Shelley: both were born on August 30.^{[1][2][11][12]}

Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson was a New Zealand physicist and chemist who was a pioneering researcher in both atomic and nuclear physics. He has been described as "the father of nuclear physics" and "the greatest experimentalist since Michael Faraday". In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances."^[1]

Contemporaries

John D. Rockefeller

66 yr overlap

Sigmund Freud

66 yr overlap

Nikola Tesla

66 yr overlap

Rabindranath Tagore

66 yr overlap

Henry Ford

66 yr overlap

Edvard Munch

66 yr overlap

H.G. Wells

66 yr overlap

Mahatma Gandhi

66 yr overlap

Max Planck

66 yr overlap

Orville Wright

66 yr overlap

Henri Matisse

66 yr overlap

George Bernard Shaw

66 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Ernest Rutherford

When was Ernest Rutherford born?

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871, and died on October 19, 1937.

How old was Ernest Rutherford at death?

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871, and died on October 19, 1937, at age 66.

What was Ernest Rutherford known for?

Ernest Rutherford was known for: Father of nuclear physics. Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson was a New Zealand physicist and chemist who was a pioneering researcher in both atomic and nuclear physics. He has been described as "the father of nuclear physics" and "the greatest experimentalist since Michael Faraday". In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances."

Who was alive at the same time as Ernest Rutherford?

Ernest Rutherford's closest contemporary was John D. Rockefeller. Their lives overlapped for 66 years.