Hantaro Nagaoka (1865–1950)

Hantaro Nagaoka (1865–1950) was a famous Japanese physicist who contributed importantly to the atomic model. Nagaoka was born in Japan and had an education at Tokyo University. He travelled to many places in the world to learn and discover new things about science, meeting many famous scientists on the way. He was also a professor in physics at Tokyo University for a period of time. Hantaro Nagaoka reviewed J.J Thomson's atomic model and disagreed with it, saying that electrons couldn't be located in the positively charged atom. He modified Thomson's model, stating that the negatively charged electrons were actually located outside the atom, and that they orbit around it. His model resembled a mini-solar system, or the planet Saturn, which is why he called it the "Saturn model". Nagaoka was the first to propose the idea that negatively-charged electrons are located on the outside of the atom. From his "Saturn model", following scientists Ernest Rutherford and Niels Bohr came up with their models, agreeing with Nagaoka's theory. Nagaoka made amazing discoveries, and he has definitely influenced our knowledge of chemistry. What I also find amazing about him is that he is the only Asian in all of the scientists who worked on discovering the atom!