Scientist Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871, in Spring Grove New Zealand. A pioneer of nuclear physics and the first to split the atom in half he was awarded the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his theory of atomic structure.
His father James had little education and struggled to support the large family of 14 but his mother Martha worked as a schoolteacher. She believed that knowledge was power and greatly encouraged her children’s education.
Ernest spent most of his time after school milking cows and helping with other chores on the family farm. Weekends were spent swimming in the