Who was Isaac Newton?
Isaac Newton was an English scientist and mathematician who described the laws of motion and universal gravitation. He is considered one of the most influential scientists in history.
Newton was born in 1643 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. While studying at the University of Cambridge, he went home during the plague years of 1665 and 1666, where he made major discoveries in mathematics, optics and gravity. His famous book, the Principia, published in 1687, set out his laws of motion and gravitation.
Newton showed that the same force that makes an apple fall also keeps the Moon in orbit around Earth. He discovered that white light is made of a spectrum of colors, built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed calculus at around the same time as German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz.
Later life
Newton served as Warden and then Master of the Royal Mint, where he fought counterfeiters, and was president of the Royal Society. He was knighted in 1705. He died in 1727 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Did You Know?
The famous story of an apple inspiring Newton's ideas about gravity comes from Newton himself, though there is no evidence the apple hit his head.