Shortly after midnight on
Christmas morning, 1642,
Hannah Newton gave birth to a tiny son whom she named Isaac after his deceased father. The boy spent his
childhood under the watchful eye of his maternal
grandmother, who taught Isaac to fear
God, to recite his
catechism, and to say his
prayers. Under the tutelage of a local
Puritan schoolmaster, Isaac learned the seriousness of life and the need to work hard with both head and hands. Much of his youth was spent either observing intently the world around him or making
mechanical devices. These included a
sundial, a
water clock, and a small
windmill that could actually grind grain.
Newton attended Trinity College at Cambridge UNiversity and came under the influence of Isaac Barrow, clergyman, mathematician, and a natural philosopher, who encouraged him in his scientific pursuits., The ability perceived by Barrow quicky bore fruit. Within the next few years, Newton discovered the binomial theorum and devised a new system of mathematics, the calculus. At about the same time, he began to consider what makes the planets travel in their elliptical orbits around the sun, and he initated a series of studies on light and color. These studies proved that sunlight consists of a whole spectrum of colors and led him to invent a new kind of telescope, the Newtonian reflector. His accomplishments caused such a stir that when he was still only twenty-nine years old, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.
Fromt 1684 to 1687, Newton was engaged in the greatest project of his career- building a foundation of mathematical reasoning for the law of universal gravitation. Finally, he published his researches into the laws of motion and gravitation in the form of a Latin treatsie, Philosphiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), usually known simply as the Principia or Principia Mathematica. In the Principia, Newton provided solid proof that the same force of attraction which binds matter to the earth also holds the heavenly bodies in their courses.
In later life, Newton accepted various official duties, including membership in Parliament and service as Warden of the Mint and then later as Master of the Mint. In 1705, he was knighted by Queen Anne and became Sir Isaac Newton; he was the first Englishman to be so honored for scientific achievement rather than military victory. Despite his great honors, Newton at the end of his life was able to summarize his career in these unassuming words:
I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy, playing on the seashore, and diverting myself, in now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
When Newton died in 1727, his funeral at Westminster Abbey was a national event. Today, he is recognized as perhaps the greatest scientist of all time.
Chronology of Newton's Life
1642 born at Woolsthorpe, England
1661 enters Trinity College, Cambridge University
1667 elected fellow of Trinity College
1669 becomes professor of mathematics at Trinity
1672 elected member of Royal Society
1687 publishes Principia(laws of motion and universal gravitation)
1696 appointed Warden of the Mint
1699 appointed Master of the Mint
1703 elected president of Royal Society
1704 publishes Opticks(on nature of light)
1705 knighted by Queen Anne
1727 dies in London