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Person
Rutherford, Ernest, 1871-1937
1871-1937
Born in Brightwater, New Zealand, Ernest Rutherford was educated at the University of New Zealand. In 1895 he was awarded a scholarship in physics to study abroad and became research assistant at Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory. In 1898, he came to McGill University where he remained until 1907, when he was appointed Longworthy Professor of Physics at the University of Manchester. The next year Rutherford won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on the transmutation of matter, much of which was conducted at McGill. At Manchester he assembled a brilliant staff, which included Niels Bohr and Hans Geiger, to study the atom. In 1919 Rutherford became head of the Cavendish laboratory at Cambridge. He was knighted in 1914 and was created first Baron Rutherford of Nelson in 1931. He died in 1950.
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