who discovered proton

The proton was discovered by Ernest Rutherford in 1917. He identified the proton as the hydrogen nucleus emitted when alpha particles bombarded nitrogen gas, marking the discovery of this positively charged particle as a fundamental part of the atomic nucleus. Rutherford initially called it the hydrogen nucleus and later named it the proton, establishing its presence in all atomic nuclei except hydrogen's own single proton nucleus. Although Eugen Goldstein had earlier discovered canal rays (positive rays) in 1886, Rutherford is credited with the discovery of the proton as a distinct subatomic particle within the nucleus of atoms.