Mathematician, Physicist & Astronomer · English · b. January 4, 1643 · d. March 31, 1727
Sir Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a 'natural philosopher'), widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians and most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book *Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica* (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687, established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing infinitesimal calculus. In the *Principia*, Newton formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation that formed the dominant scientific viewpoint for centuries until it was superseded by the theory of relativity. Newton used his mathematical description of gravity to derive Kepler's laws of planetary motion, account for tides, the trajectories of comets, the precession of the equinoxes, and other phenomena, eradicating doubt about the Solar System's heliocentricity.
No articles yet.