Sir Isaac Newton (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) was an English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution.[1]
His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687) formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation that dominated scientists' view of the physical universe for the next three centuries.
Principia & gravitation
In the Principia, Newton derived the three laws of motion and showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws.[2]
Optics & mathematics
Newton built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour based on the observation that a prism separates white light into the colours of the visible spectrum. He also shares credit with Leibniz for the development of calculus.
References
- Westfall, R. (1980). Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton. Cambridge University Press.
- Newton, I. (1687). Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
