...To University... and Beyond...Sir Isaac Newton was born on the 4th of January, 1643 (25 December 1642, Old Style), at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, England. His father died before he was born, and his mother quickly remarried and left him to be raised by his grandparents - she departed swiftly with her new husband. Newton later confessed that he hated his mother and stepfather for this.
When Newton turned 12, he was enrolled in The King's School (in Grantham), until he was 17. Here he learned plenty of Latin, but no mathematics - which he had already taken a liking to. His schooling continued however; in June 1661, Newton left home to attend Trinity College in Cambridge. He was recommended by his uncle, Reverent William Ayscough, after Newton declared an intense dislike for agricultural work (the road his mother wanted him to take). However, Newton was not the richest man alive, and had to pay off his boarding fee by working as a valet after-hours. He gained a scholarship in 1664, which helped him a great deal, and the following year he received his Bachelor's Degree. It was also while he was a student here that he discovered the binomial theorem (basis of calculus). Unfortunately, the next year also brought with it the Bubonic Plague - so Newton returned home for two year to avoid infection. It was during this time that he came up with the theory of gravitation (allegedly while sitting under an apple tree), his laws of motion and refined calculus methods. Newton returned to Cambridge as the Lucasian professor of mathematics in 1669 and remained at Cambridge until 1696. Many consider these year his most creative years, as it was during his time here that he carried out his famous experiments with glass prisms and studied the properties of white light. Newton proposed the theories of refraction and reflection of light, as well as the particle theory of light – today called photons. his theories on white light as well as the particulate properties of light were highly controversial topics at the time. Newton became head of the Royal Mint in 1696, a position he kept until he died. It was intended as a source of income from no actual work, but he considered it a very serious line of work and undertook a major re-coinage of the currency and strived to remove counterfeiters. Many assumed that Newton had undergone some mental breakdown (he left science for the position). In 1703 Newton became President of the Royal Society after gaining overnight acclaim from his peers in the scientific community for his new telescope design and in 1705 he was knighted – ironically for political reasons and not for his work in science. As he became older he moved into his niece’s house near Winchester and died in his sleep in 1727. His coffin lies near Westminster Abbey, in England. |
...Quick Facts...Name: Sir Isaac Newton
D.O.B: 4.1.1643 or 25.12.1642 Birthplace: Lincolnshire, England Death: 31.3.1727 or 20.3.1727 Religion: Unitarian Occupation: Scientist Positions: Fellow of Trinity College (1667); Lucasian Professor of Math at Cambridge (1669); head of the Royal Mint (1696); member of Parliament (1689 and 1701); President of the Royal Society (1703). Awards: knighthood; all the positions listed above. Texts written: Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687); Opticks (1704); De Mundi Systemae (1727); all his personal papers, diaries, journals and logs have now also been discovered, posthumously. ...Behind the Scenes...Unfortunately, Isaac Newton, like every person, had some issues in his personal life. He practised alchemy, a practice outlawed by the England of his day. Alchemy, as an undertaking, usually involved highly dangerous and complex chemical experiments, harmful to the person doing them. However this wasn't the reason it was banned; part of the alchemists' dream was to create the 'philosopher's stone' - which could do many things including turning base metals into gold. The government was afraid that counterfeit gold produced by alchemists would devalue real gold! Isaac Newton seemed to have other goals, but this doesn't detract from the fact that what he was doing was illegal.
Another point of interest is Newton's religious beliefs: he was a Unitarian, a sect of so-called christians who had decided that the Trinity was a lie; that Christ was human, not divine; that the Holy Spirit was naught; that original sin, biblical inerrancy and election were all not correct. He tried to place God in a man-made box, and tried to remedy his scientific breakthroughs with his ideas of God. This didn't work, and it never had any chance of working; we as humans cannot understand matters beyond us (such as the Trinity) and should never pit human science against a God so powerful humans can't even comprehend. In trying to extend his earthly understanding, he doomed his spiritual life. Not a very smart thing to do for a man who is credited with so many discoveries. Newton also made a few lifelong enemies, such as one Robert Hooke. This particular scientist was also involved with theories similar to Newton's on gravitation and light, but the problems began when Hooke claimed that he had discovered everything Newton did before Newton published his book, the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. Newton won the dispute. Lastly, Newton wrote many paper, journals and kept logs that he simply never had published, for his own reasons. Those works (including his records of alchemical experiments) are now in the hands of museums, collectors, universities, and all manner of other people spread through the world. Perhaps his reluctance to publish his work shows that he was afraid of criticism, or that he disliked conflict as a result of his theories. |