Great mind of the 17th century passes away

Sir Isaac Newton, MA, BMath Born: December 25, 1642 Died: March 20, 1727 Sir Isaac Newton was born prematurely in Woolsthorpe, in Lincolnshire. Well known for his works in mathematics and experimental science, his acute observations and curious mind was the perfect brew for a great scientist. His scientific career has been praised throughout time and his works still form the basis of education in physics and mathematics. His father, also named Isaac, passed away before he was born and his mother, Hanna, passed him to his grandmother in order to remarry and live with Barnabas Smith. He was very distressed as a child as a result of his mothers absence during the crucial developmental stages and was constantly on emotional collapse. He occasionally fell into violent attacks against his friends. By birth right a farmer, he was removed from school and placed in the fields. He happily failed this destiny and attended Grantham Kings School in preparation for Cambridge. He did not perform well in his undergraduate studies, but during the years at university privately read and understood the works of Gassendi, Hobbes and Descartes. Newton received his bachelors degree in 1665 without honours or a distinction. He created original findings and contributions to science in the following years, along with his Master of Arts, and succeeded Isaac Barrow as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. After the Principa, Newton focused on public affairs. He became the representative of Cambridge in Parliament and befriended John Locke and Nicolas Fatio de Dullier. Unfortunately, Newton suffered a severe nervous breakdown during 16771678. The reason is debated; he may have suffered from the weight of the new workload, his loss of friendship with Fatio, or the stress of criticism and controversy to his works. Newton survived this breakdown and in 1696 became first the Warden and then the Master of the Royal Mint. Satisfied with his new position, he left Cambridge and went to permanently live in London. One of his final works and second major work, Optiks, was largely based on his discoveries in the Cambridge years. He was knighted in 1705. After this, he revisited his previous work De analysi (On Analysis) and developed it into Methodus fluxionum et serierum infinitarum (the Method of Fluxions and Infinite Series, 1736), which was published 9 years after his death. As one of the most influential and original scientists of the late Renaissance, Sir Isaac Newton gave insight by both observation and mathematical reasoning to create discoveries which are still used and accepted today. The discoveries and papers mentioned here are but the tip of the iceberg into a farmer boy who joined the ranks of the greatest minds of history.

most famously Infinitesimal Calculus in mathematics. This work, along with De Motu (1684) would provide the background to many fields, ultimately leading to his most famous work Philosophi Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy). Written in 1666 and 1687 respectively, these scientific papers discuss light and colour and planetary motion. A series of successes followed his publication of Infinitesimal Calculus; Newton returned to Cambridge, was elected into the Trinity membership, became a senior fellow of the trinity