The men who first split the atom

Atoms, as you might well have studied in school, comprise subatomic particles.

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The first nuclear transmutation of one element (lithium) to another (helium) under complete human control was achieved by physicists John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton on April 14, 1932.

John Cockcroft

Born on May 27, 1897, Cockcroft came from a family of cotton manufacturers in Todmorden in northern England. He went through a varied educational experience, which put him in good stead for what lay ahead in his life.

Before World War I, he studied mathematics at Manchester University in 1914-15. After serving with the Royal Field Artillery during the war, he returned to Manchester not to continue studying mathematics, but to pursue electrical engineering at the College of Technology. He joined the Metropolitan Vickers ("Metrovick") Electrical Company for two years as an apprentice, before heading over to St John’s College, Cambridge, to take his Mathematical Tripos in 1924.

In addition to the wide-ranging skill training seen now as a prerequisite for modern accelerator science and engineering - Cockcroft's theoretical know-how in mathematics, physics, and engineering, along with practical experience with a local electrical company put him on the right track. When he rejoined renowned New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford with whom he had previously apprenticed in Manchester at the Cavendish Laboratory, all the ingredients for Cockcroft’s most important contribution were in place.

Sir John Cockcroft (centre), Director of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, England, during a visit to the U.S.. Here, Cockcroft is seen with American chemist Glenn Seaborg (left) and American physicist Dr. Edwin McMillan.