Ineed ! for this i chose ernest rutherford
were there experiences in his life that led to his interest in science and the study of the atom?

defend his work on the atom and its contribution to the modern atomic model.

point out which contributions are present in the modern atomic model and which were eventually disproven and thus are not part of the modern model.

Ok lets split it into the following parts:

1. When Rutherford was handed his first science book at the age of 10 he was inspired to do his very first scientific experiment. After that, he had the chance to expand his experience and interest of atoms while in many institutes and universities like Cambridge or Cavendish. 
2. His contribution is essential. Rutherford made the marvelous discovery that nearly the total mass of an atom is concentrated in a nucleus. In so doing, he gave birth to the nuclear model. That paved the way to the creation of the atomic bomb. Something that was also impressive was his discovery on how to artificially induce a nuclear reaction in a stable element. 
3. The discovery of nuclear fission, the thought that the atom is not ultimately a single particle and  that atoms have a positively charged nucleus. He could not prove the negative part of the atom