Isaac Newton Biography

Biography

Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England on January 4, 1643. His father, a farmer who was also named Isaac Newton, had died three months before his birth. His mother remarried when Isaac was three years old and left young Isaac in the care of his grandparents. Isaac attended school where he was an adequate student. At one point his mother tried to take him out of school so he could help on the farm, but Isaac had no interest in becoming a farmer and was soon back at school. Isaac grew up mostly alone. For the rest of his life he would prefer to work and live alone focused on his writing and his studies. In 1661, Isaac began to attend college at Cambridge. He would spend much of his life at Cambridge, becoming a professor of mathematics and a fellow of the Royal Society (a group of scientists in England). He eventually was elected to represent Cambridge University as a member of parliament. Isaac had to leave Cambridge from 1665 to 1667 because of the Great Plague. He spent these two years in study and isolation at his home in Woolsthorpe developing his theories on calculus, gravity, and the laws of motion. In 1696 Newton became the warden of the Royal Mint in

Outlined in the Principia, his theory about gravity helped to explain the movements of the planets and the Sun. This theory is known today as Newton's law of universal gravitation. Laws of Motion - Newton's laws of motion were three fundamental laws of physics that laid the foundation for classical mechanics. Calculus, Newton invented a whole new type of mathematics which he called "fluxions." Today we call this math calculus and it is an important type of math used in advanced engineering and science. Reflecting Telescope - In 1668 Newton invented the reflecting telescope. This type of telescope uses mirrors to reflect light and form an image. Nearly all of the major telescopes used in astronomy today are reflecting