High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Professor Alexander William Bickerton (7 January 1842 – 21 January 1929) was the first professor of Chemistry at Canterbury College (now called the University of Canterbury) in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is best known for teaching and mentoring Ernest Rutherford. He was a natural teacher though an eccentric one, who taught science in an exciting way. His differences weren`t limited to teaching as he formed a socialist community in Christchurch, which he later set up as a theme park. His Partial impact theory explaining the appearance of temporary stars was the major work of his lifetime.