1642: The Birth Of Isaac Newton
Public DomainSir Isaac Newton is credited with creating calculus and discovering the laws of motion and gravity.
While Isaac Newton’s birth date is often listed as Jan. 4, 1643, he was actually born on Christmas Day 1642, according to the Julian calendar that was in use in England at the time. The Gregorian calendar had been introduced in 1582, but Great Britain didn’t officially adopt the change until 1752, leading to discrepancies between dates.
Newton’s father had died three months before he was born, and he barely survived himself after he arrived prematurely. When he was three, his mother remarried, and Newton was mostly raised by his grandparents.
He was fascinated by science from a young age, and he ultimately enrolled at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge to study math, philosophy, and astronomy. The school temporarily closed due to an outbreak of the plague in 1665, and Newton spent his time off developing various theories, including early work on gravity and motion.
Public DomainJames Thornill’s portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, painted circa 1712.
After returning to Trinity College in 1667, Newton caught the attention of Professor Isaac Barrow, a mathematician who helped Newton develop calculus. In 1687, Newton changed scientific history with the publication of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, or the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, which laid out his laws of motion and gravitation.
He later built the first reflecting telescope, published revolutionary ideas on color theory, tried to calculate the speed of sound and solar mass, and made countless other contributions to math and science before his death in 1727 at age 84.
