Isaac Newton
Philosopher, Mathematician, Astronomer, Physicist, Scientist (1643–1727)
Early Life & Education
Sir Isaac Newton was born in the county of Lincolnshire, England in 1643. His father died just months before he was born, and when he was three years old, his mother left him in the care of his grandmother. Isaac was always a top student, and went off to the University of Cambridge at age 19. While at Cambridge, Newton was influenced by the writings of Galileo, Nicholas Copernicus, and Johannes Kepler. By 1665, Newton began developing a mathematical theory that would lead to the development of calculus, one of the fundamental branches of mathematics. Newton would go on to discover other important math theories such as Newton’s Identities, and Newton’s Method.
Contributions to Science
Contributions to Science
Isaac Newton made many scientific discoveries and inventions throughout his career. Here is a list of some of the most important and famous ones.
- Gravity - Newton is probably most famous for discovering gravity. Outlined in the Principia, his theory about gravity helped to explain the movements of the planets and the Sun. This theory is known today as Newton's law of universal gravitation.
- Laws of Motion - In this landmark work, Newton explained his three laws of motion, which included his theory on gravity. According to Newton, gravity is the reason that objects fall to the ground when dropped. Moreover, gravity is the reason why planets orbit the sun, while moons orbit planets, and why ocean tides exist.
Below are Newton’s three laws of motion:
- Newton’s First Law ( Law of Inertia) states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest and that an object in uniform motion tends to stay in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force.
- Newton’s Second Law states that an applied force on an object equals the time rate of change of its momentum.
- Newton’s Third Law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
- Composition of white light - In 1670, Newton moved on to the study of optics and developed theories relating to the composition of white light and the spectrum of colors. He is also credited as the first scientist to explain the formation of a rainbow – from water droplets dispersed in the atmosphere.
- Calculus - Newton invented a whole new type of mathematics which he called "fluxions." Today we call this math calculus and it is an important type of math used in advanced engineering and science.
- Reflecting Telescope - In 1668 Newton invented the reflecting telescope. This type of telescope uses mirrors to reflect light and form an image. Nearly all of the major telescopes used in astronomy today are reflecting telescopes.
Final Years
Toward the end of this life, Newton lived at Cranbury Park, England. By this time, Newton had become one of the most famous men in Europe. His scientific discoveries were unchallenged. He also had become wealthy, investing his sizable income wisely and bestowing sizable gifts to charity. Despite his fame, Newton's life was far from perfect: He never married or made many friends, and in his later years, a combination of pride, insecurity and side trips on peculiar scientific inquiries led even some of his few friends to worry about his mental stability.
By the time he reached 80 years of age, Newton was experiencing digestion problems, and had to drastically change his diet and mobility. Then, in March 1727, Newton experienced severe pain in his abdomen and blacked out, never to regain consciousness. He died the next day, on March 31, 1727, at the age of 85.
Quick Facts
Occupation- Place of Birth
- Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom
- Place of Death
- London, England, United Kingdom
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