August 30, 1871, in Nelson, New Zealand, found the birth of one the most important chemists in the history of science, Ernest Rutherford. Rutherford was born to a family of fourteen. His parents were James Rutherford and Martha Thompson (Ernest-Rutherford Bibliography). He was educated at the age of sixteen at Nelson Collegiate School. He then went on to college at University of New Zealand due to a scholarship he has won previously (Ernest-Rutherford Bibliography). After college he continued with his research (i.e. different types of radiation, gamma and beta rays, and half-life). In 1900 he married his wife Mary Georgina Newton; they had one daughter Eileen Mary. Around 1911 he and a couple of lab partners did the Gold Foil Experiment. Rutherford was knighted in 1914 and received many more awards and accomplishments. He died on October 19, 1937 in Cambridge (Ernest-Rutherford Bibliography).