study to become a preacher. One summer Newton was forced to leave his university when it was
closed because of plaque. During this period he made some of his most significant discoveries
and two years later he came back with a revolutionary understanding of mathematics, gravitation,
and optics. A professor of his, upon understanding what Newton had done, resigned his position
at Cambridge so Newton could have it. Newton’s calculus provided a new mathematical
framework for the rapid solution of whole classes of physical problems. Newton was the first
scientist ever knighted.
His Philosopia Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, is considered to be the most
influential book in the history of science. In this work, Newton described universal gravitation
and the three laws of motion, laying the groundwork for classical mechanics, which dominated
the scientific view of the physical universe for the next three centuries and is the basis for
modern engineering. Newton showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies
are governed by the same set of natural laws by demonstrating the consistency between Kepler’s
laws of planetary motion and his theory of gravitation, thus removing the last doubts about
heliocentrisism and advancing the scientific revolution.
In mechanics, Newton formulated the principles of conservation of momentum and angular
momentum. In optics, he invented the reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour
based on the observation that a prism decomposes white light into a visible spectrum. He also
formulated an empirical law of cooling and studied the speed of sound.
In mathematics, Newton shares the credit with Gottfried Leibnitz for the development of the
differential and integral calculus.
In a 2005 poll of the Royal Society asking who had the greater effect on the history of science,
Newton was deemed much more influential than Albert Einstein.