J. J. Thomson

Hello! My name is J. J. Thomson, but you can call me J. J. I was a scientist, which is like being a detective for the world. Ever since I was a little boy, born on December 18th, 1856, I loved asking questions. I would look at everything around me—a toy, a tree, a cookie—and wonder, 'What is it made of?' I wanted to know what the tiniest, most secret building blocks of the world were.

I worked in a big laboratory with lots of interesting tools. My favorite experiments were with special glass tubes that could glow with colorful light! It was like making a tiny lightning storm inside a bottle. While playing with these glowing tubes in 1897, I discovered something amazing. It was a teeny-tiny particle, much smaller than anything anyone had ever seen before. It was like finding a secret sprinkle on a giant cupcake! I decided to name this super-tiny particle an 'electron.' It was a brand-new piece of our world that no one knew was there.

Finding the electron was a very big deal! It showed everyone that the tiny atoms, which we thought were the smallest things ever, were actually made of even smaller bits. My discovery helped all the scientists who came after me understand how everything in the world works. I lived to be 83 years old, and my whole life was a happy adventure of discovery. Today, people remember me for finding the amazing little electron, a tiny piece that helps make up our whole, wonderful world.