The first subatomic particle to be discovered was the electron, identified in 1897 by J. J. Thomson. After the nucleus of the atom was discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford, the nucleus of ordinary hydrogen was recognized to be a single proton. In 1932 the neutron was discovered.

Who discovered tiny particles?

For almost 100 years after this, most scientists thought of atoms as solid structures, until in 1897 J.J. Thompson discovered that atoms contained even smaller particles called electrons.

Who discovered the electron?

During the 1880s and ’90s scientists searched cathode rays for the carrier of the electrical properties in matter. Their work culminated in the discovery by English physicist J.J. Thomson of the electron in 1897.