“Here is buried Isaac Newton, Knight, who by a strength of mind almost divine, and mathematical principles peculiarly his own, explored the course and figures of the planets, the paths of comets, the tides of the sea, the dissimilarities in rays of light, and, what no other scholar has previously imagined, the properties of the colours thus produced. Diligent, sagacious and faithful, in his expositions of nature, antiquity and the holy Scriptures, he vindicated by his philosophy the majesty of God mighty and good, and expressed the simplicity of the Gospel in his manners. Mortals rejoice that there has existed such and so great an ornament of the human race! He was born on 25 December 1642, and died on 20 March 1726/7.” – Inscription on Sir Isaac Newton’s tomb.
In 1676, Sir Isaac Newton famously wrote in a letter to philosopher Robert Hooke, “If I have seen further it is by standing on ye sholders of Giants.” By the time he died, Newton had become science’s greatest giant, and every scientist who has followed him has stood on his shoulders.
Newton is widely considered the most influential scientist in history, best known for the discovery of gravity and the subsequent laws of motion that he theorized. Schoolchildren around the world are still taught the famous legend about an apple falling on Newton’s head, but that colorful story and the preoccupation with Newton’s work in physics tend to make people forget Newton’s work in other fields. Using empirical studies, Newton developed theories about light prisms, how matter cools, and even tried studying and calculating the speed of sound. And those are just the sciences; Newton also helped develop several mathematical fields, including calculus.
When looking at Newton’s work, it’s easy to forget that he was also a man with typical human emotions and convictions. Though religion and science are often seen as antagonistic counterparts, Newton was very religious, and he intently studied the Bible and even occultist practices and theories. Newton wrote at length on these topics, which fascinated him so much that he spent more time writing about them than he did science and mathematics.
The Life of Sir Isaac Newton profiles the amazing life and works of one of history’s greatest scientists. A Table of Contents is included.
