But during Trump's inauguration speech, he used it as an example while he listed off a number of historical accomplishments made by the United States.
"Americans pushed thousands of miles through a rugged land of untamed wilderness, they crossed deserts, scaled mountains, braved untold dangers, won the Wild West, ended slavery, rescued millions from tyranny, lifted billions from poverty, harnessed electricity, split the atom, launched mankind into the heavens and put the universe of human knowledge into the palm of the human hand," Trump said.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said on social media he was "surprised" to hear Trump making claims about the atom in his inauguration speech.
"That honour belongs to Nelson's most famous and favourite son Sir Ernest Rutherford.
"Rutherford's groundbreaking research on radio communication, radioactivity, the structure of the atom and ultrasound technology were done at Cambridge and Manchester Universities in the UK and McGill University in Montreal Canada ( not part of the USA - yet)."
Rutherford, who died in the 1930s, was known as "the father of nuclear physics" for his research and was awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry. His portrait has appeared on the New Zealand $100 note since 1992.
Smith said he would do so to "keep the historic record on who split the atom first accurate."
During Trump's inauguration speech he spoke about "rescuing" America from what he described as years of betrayal and decline and said it was the start of "the golden age".
He said he would be prioritising cracking down on illegal immigration, rolling back clean energy initiatives and would make the US a "free, sovereign and independent nation".
Trump also reiterated his intention to change the Gulf of Mexico's name to the Gulf of America.
