Ernest Walton

Ernest Walton, born as Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton on October 6, 1903, was an Irish physicist. He is known for the first disintegration of an atomic nucleus by artificially accelerated protons, also referred to as "splitting the atom". Walton was born in a place where the Irish language was spoken and died in Belfast on June 25, 1995.

Walton was educated at Methodist College Belfast and later pursued higher education at Trinity College, Cambridge. His doctoral advisor was Ernest Rutherford, and Walton's academic discipline was physics.

In recognition of his work, Walton was awarded the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics. He remained associated with the Republic of Ireland throughout his life.