Facts about Sir Isaac Newton
15. English physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton, most famous for his law of gravitation, was instrumental in the scientific revolution of the 17th century.
14. Born in England, Isaac Newton was a highly influential physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, alchemist and theologian.
13. Born to a poor family in Woolsthorpe, England, in 1642, Isaac Newton attended Trinity College in Cambridge, England only after it became apparent that he would never be a successful farmer.
12. He was born January 4, 1643, in Woolsthorpe, England, United Kingdom
11. After getting his bachelors degree in 1665, he studied math physics, optics and astronomy on his own.
10. Newton was adevout Christian, but he supported Arianism in his later years.
9. Newton was an avid list maker and one of his preserved lists included all of the sins he felt he had committed up until the age of 19 (his age at the time).
8. Newton was warden of the Royal Mint during the Great Recoinage of 1696. During his time at the Royal Mint he successfully prosecuted 28 forgers for creating illegal currency.
7. In 1687, he published his most acclaimed work, Philosophiae, Natrualis, Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), which has been called the single-most influential book on physics.
6. Newton’s law of universal gravitation describes the gravitational attraction between bodies with mass, the earth and moon for example.
5. He owned more books on historical subjects than on science.
4. While he’s best known for his work on gravity, Newton was a tinkerer, too, but more with ideas than physical inventions. He did invent reflecting lenses for telescopes, which produced clearer images in a smaller telescope compared with the refracting models of the time.
3. He was knighted on April 16, 1705 by Queen Anne in Cambridge, which earned him the title ‘Sir’. He was honored knighthood not for his scientific achievements, but for his dedicated service for the Mint and for his political activities.
2. Famous Isaac Newton quotes include: "Plato is my friend - Aristotle is my friend - but my greatest friend is truth."
1. He died March 31, 1727, in London, England, United Kingdom.
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