The Resume

(August 30, 1871-October 19, 1937)
Born in Brightwater, New Zealand
Father of nuclear physics
Named alpha, beta and gamma radiation
Demonstrated that some heavy elements spontaneously decay into lighter elements
Developed the nuclear model of the atom, with a small positively-charged nucleus orbited by electrons
Oversaw the first experiment to split the nucleus of an atom (1921)
Won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1908)
Named Baron Rutherford of Nelson (1931)
Namesake for element 104, rutherfordium

Why he might be annoying:

His name was misspelled ‘Earnest’ on his birth certificate.
Although known as a physicist, his Nobel Prize was awarded for chemistry.
He said, ‘All science is either physics or stamp collecting.’
His discoveries led the way to the development of nuclear weapons.
His title cost him his life when he required a hernia operation: protocol at the time dictated that the operation be performed by a titled surgeon and the delay in finding one proved fatal.

Why he might not be annoying:

Albert Einstein called him ‘a second Newton.’
He excelled as both a theorist and as a hands-on experimenter.
He joked that his inventiveness was a result of his New Zealand background: ‘We don’t have the money, so we have to think.’
He outlived his only child, a daughter Eileen, who died in childbirth (1930).
He was a mentor to several future Nobel Prize winners, including Niels Bohr (Physics, 1922), James Chadwick (Physics, 1935), Otto Hahn (Chemistry, 1944), Edward Appleton (Physics, 1947) and John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton (Physics, 1951).
He is pictured on the New Zealand $100 bill.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Scientists
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 22]
• I Attended Cambridge
• I Attended University of Manchester [England]
• I Died in 1937 (Ranked: 66)
• I Earned a Doctorate
• I Got an Element Named After Me
• I Outlived My Child
• I Was Voted the Greatest Person From My Country (Ranked: 13)
• I'm Buried at Westminster Abbey
• Kiwis - I am a New Zealander
• Knights
• Look at Me, I'm Postage
• Nobel Prize for Chemistry (Ranked: 1908)
• Profiles 26251-26500 (Ranked: 26439)
• Religion's 100 Most Influential People (Ranked: 56)
• Scientists

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 23 Votes: 60.87% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 288 Votes: 54.17% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 76 Votes: 56.58% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 223 Votes: 50.22% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 80 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 193 Votes: 42.49% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 2415 Votes: 41.28% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 30 Votes: 26.67% Annoying