Donald Trump has shown little sign of changing his bombastic style in his second term
Trump, in his inaugural speech as the 47th president of the United States, rattled off a list of American achievements, including the claim that U.S. scientists were responsible for splitting the atom. AFP

The mayor of a New Zealand city has vowed to summon the incoming U.S. ambassador to "set the historic record straight" following President Donald Trump's controversial claim that American experts were the first to split the atom.

Mayor Nick Smith of Nelson, the city where famed physicist Sir Ernest Rutherford was born and raised, took issue with Trump's assertion and planned to invite the ambassador to visit a memorial to Rutherford, the true pioneer of atomic science, The Guardian reported.

Mayor Smith, whose city of Nelson lies near Rutherford's hometown, expressed his frustration with Trump's error, stating he would invite the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand -- once appointed -- to visit the Lord Rutherford Memorial in Brightwater, just outside Nelson.

"So we can keep the historic record on who split the atom first accurate," Smith said, adding that the claim made by Trump had "put out" the local community, who take immense pride in Rutherford's contributions to science, reported News.com. "I was a bit surprised by new president Donald Trump in his inauguration speech about US greatness claiming today Americans split the atom. That honor belongs to Nelson's most famous and favorite son Sir Ernest Rutherford. He was the first to artificially induce a nuclear reaction by bombarding nitrogen nuclei with alpha particles."

Trump, in his inaugural speech as the 47th president of the United States, rattled off a list of American achievements, including the claim that U.S. scientists were responsible for splitting the atom.

However, the honor of that groundbreaking discovery belongs to Rutherford, a New Zealand-born physicist who achieved this feat in 1917 at the University of Manchester in England. Rutherford's work earned him the title of "father of nuclear physics" and his legacy included the naming of the element rutherfordium in his honor.

"Nelsonians and New Zealanders should be very proud of Ernest Rutherford's achievement in 1917 in being the first to split the atom and we just need to politely remind Americans of that," Smith said. "We just want to put the record of history correct. I do not want to see the achievement of Ernest Rutherford as the father of nuclear physics, being watered down in any way."

The city houses a monument in honor of Sir Ernest.

Trump's claim, made in front of an inauguration crowd at the Capitol's Emancipation Hall, was just one of several controversial statements during his address. He also accused his predecessor, Joe Biden, of pardoning "the worst murderers" and repeated allegations of a rigged election in 2020.

"Americans pushed thousands of miles through a rugged land of untamed wilderness, they crossed deserts, scaled mountains, braved untold dangers, won the wild west, ended slavery, rescued millions from tyranny, lifted billions from poverty, harnessed electricity, split the atom, launched mankind into the heavens and put the universe of human knowledge into the palm of the human hand," the U.S. president claimed.

This is not the first time Trump has credited American scientists with the achievement, a claim that has repeatedly sparked backlash from New Zealanders, who hold Rutherford in high regard.

Rutherford's legacy holds international importance. His discovery of the concept of radioactive half-life and his pioneering work in nuclear physics revolutionized science. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908 for his research into the disintegration of elements.

Under Rutherford's leadership at Cambridge University, the discovery of the neutron by James Chadwick in 1932 and the first successful experiment to split the nucleus by John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton were achieved.

New Zealanders have long felt frustrated by the tendency of other countries -- particularly Australia -- to claim credit for cultural and historical events that are undeniably Kiwi. From the origins of beloved desserts like pavlova to Hollywood star Russell Crowe's nationality, New Zealanders have long felt their achievements were being unfairly overlooked.