Who spearheaded the scientific team that successfully accomplished the 'splitting of the atom' for the first time?

The story of splitting the atom is a cornerstone of modern physics, and Ernest Rutherford was at the forefront of this groundbreaking achievement. Before Rutherford, scientists understood that atoms had a nucleus, but they didn't know how to break it apart. Rutherford, a New Zealand-born physicist working in Britain, conducted a series of experiments in the early 20th century, most famously the gold foil experiment. This experiment, conducted around 1911, involved firing alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold. The results showed that the atom's positive charge was concentrated in a tiny nucleus. While Rutherford didn't literally "split" the atom in that experiment, his work laid the foundation. Later, in 1917, he bombarded nitrogen gas with alpha particles and observed the release of protons, effectively transmuting nitrogen into oxygen. This is considered the first successful splitting of an atom. So, while others made contributions, Rutherford led the team and is credited with this monumental achievement. Dylan Thomas was a famous Welsh poet, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, and Sir Ian Wilmot was a key figure in cloning Dolly the sheep – all significant figures, but not involved in splitting the atom.