1908 - Rutherford wins Nobel Prize
Ernest Rutherford’s discoveries about the nature of atoms shaped modern science and paved the way for nuclear physics. Albert Einstein called him a ‘second Newton’ who had ‘tunnelled into the very material of God’.
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1962 - Maurice Wilkins wins Nobel Prize
New Zealand-born Maurice Wilkins and his colleagues James Watson and Francis Crick shared the prize for their studies on the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the genetic molecule found in all organisms.
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1999 - Georgina Beyer becomes first transgender woman elected to Parliament in the world
Georgina Beyer became the Labour Party’s candidate for the Wairarapa electorate in the 1999 New Zealand General Election, and won the electorate by a majority of 3033 votes
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2016 - Joseph Parker wins world heavyweight boxing title
The 24-year-old South Aucklander of Samoan descent became the second New Zealand-born holder of a recognised world professional boxing title by outpointing Mexican Andy Ruiz – who would have become his country’s first world heavyweight titleholder had he won.
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