In his inauguration speech on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump made several inaccurate and misleading statements, one of which was his claim that Americans “split the atom.” This particular assertion sparked criticism on social media, particularly from New Zealanders, who pointed out that the true credit for this achievement belongs to their own Ernest Rutherford, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist known as the father of nuclear physics.
Rutherford is widely recognized as the first person to successfully split the atom in 1917, when he induced a nuclear reaction while working at a university in Manchester, UK. This milestone is also credited to English scientist John Douglas Cockroft and Ireland’s Ernest Walton, who in 1932 conducted similar experiments at a British laboratory established by Rutherford. However, none of these achievements are attributed to Americans.
Trump’s speech, which highlighted various American accomplishments, included other claims such as crossing deserts, conquering mountains, winning the Wild West, abolishing slavery, rescuing millions from tyranny, ending poverty, harnessing electricity, launching mankind into space, and bringing human knowledge to the palm of one’s hand.
Nick Smith, a New Zealand politician and the mayor of Nelson—Rutherford’s birthplace and place of education—expressed his surprise at Trump’s claim.
Nick Smith pointed out on Facebook that Rutherford’s groundbreaking research in areas such as radio communication, radioactivity, atomic structure, and ultrasound technology was conducted at Cambridge and Manchester Universities in the UK, as well as at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Smith also expressed his intention to invite the next U.S. ambassador to New Zealand to visit Rutherford’s birthplace memorial to ensure the historical accuracy of who was credited with splitting the atom.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of History and Heritage Resources, while the milestone of splitting the atom is attributed to Cockroft and Walton, Rutherford’s earlier contributions, such as mapping the atom’s structure, hypothesizing the central nucleus, and identifying the proton, are also acknowledged.
Trump’s comments sparked a wave of online reactions from New Zealanders, who are proud of Rutherford’s legacy. His contributions to science are taught in schools across New Zealand, and his name is honored on buildings, streets, and institutions. Additionally, his portrait is featured on the country’s 100-dollar banknote.
Ben Uffindell, editor of the satirical New Zealand news site The Civilian, shared on X, “Okay, I’ve gotta call time. Trump just claimed America split the atom. That’s THE ONE THING WE DID.”
