Physicists from both New Zealand and Britain have been credited with splitting the atom — but there is consensus that it was not an American.

Donald Trump angered New Zealanders on his first day in office when he asserted that America split the atom, something that Sir Ernest Rutherford accomplished.

In his Inaugural Address, Trump credited Americans with splitting the atom, an achievement credited by many to pioneering physicist Ernest Rutherford of New Zealand.

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

After President Trump's claim, a mayor in New Zealand pointed out that work to split the atom was actually pioneered by physicist Ernest Rutherford.