Trump vexes New Zealanders by claiming one of their proudest historical moments for America

U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration in an inauguration speech that Americans “split the atom” prompted vexed social media posts on Tuesday by New Zealanders, who said the achievement belonged to a pioneering scientist revered in his homeland. Ernest Rutherford is regarded by many as the first to knowingly split the nucleus while working at a British university in 1917. The achievement is also credited to an English and an Irish scientist working at a laboratory developed by Rutherford — but not to Americans. The mayor of Rutherford's New Zealand birthplace said he would invite the next U.S. ambassador to the country to visit a memorial at the site.