50 Isaac Newton facts about the father of gravity (2023)

Sir Isaac Newton is one of the first names you would hear in yourScienceand math classes. Born in the midst of the Scientific Revolution, Newton himself grew up to have many significant discoveries and inventions. With his works on calculus, the laws of motion and the famous law of universal gravitation,Newton also became one of the most influentialpeopleIn the land. Gravitate towards knowledge about one of the greatest minds of the 17th century with these amazing Isaac Newton facts.

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In reality, an apple did not fall on Newton's head.

One of the most famous stories about Isaac Newton is that he developed the law of universal gravitation after alitterfell headlong. While amusing, this story is nothing more than a myth. Although Newton himself used to say that he was inspired by seeing an apple fall from a tree, the apple did not actually fall on his head.

This big story probably came about when his acquaintances first verified the story of him looking at an apple. One memory said that Newton thought of gravitation when he saw an apple fall from the tree and wondered why it always had to fall and not in the other direction. He then postulated that Earth could be pulling the apple due to the large amount of matter on Earth. Likewise, the apple also pulled the Earth, but with much less force. Based on this hypothesis, Isaac Newton developed and published a theory ofgravityin 1687, which encompassed all objects.

Newton also studied a lot about the occult.

One of the strangest facts about Isaac Newton is that in addition to his scientific endeavors, Isaac Newton also spent a lot of time in occult studies. In fact, he personally valued the occult wisdom of the ancients more than his work as ascientific. He wrote on topics such as Solomon's Temple, prophecies, and even Atlantis.

He was born on Christmas Day, but January 4th is also his birthday.

At the time of Isaac Newton's birth, England had not yet adopted the Gregorian calendar. According to the Julian or "old style" calendar, Newton was born inNatalday, December 25, 1642. When the Gregorian calendar we now use began to be adopted, it pushed his date of birth to January 4, 1643.

Isaac Newton barely survived as a baby.

As ababy,Newton was born prematurely, which made him small and sickly.. In fact, it was so small that his mother even said it fit into a pint mug. Young Isaac Newton was not expected to survive his first day of life, but he did and lived to the ripe old age of 84.

He didn't like his stepfather very much.

Isaac Newton's rich but uneducated father died just 3 months before he was born. When he was 3, his mother, Hannah Ayscough, married the Reverend Barnabus Smith. Smith, however, did not want a stepson.

As a result, Newton's mother moved in with her new husband, leaving little Isaac in the care of his maternal grandmother, Margery Ayscough. Because of this, young Newton was not very fond of his stepfather, resenting his mother for marrying Smith.

He was a hardworking student.

In June 1661, Isaac Newton entered Cambridge University at the age of 18. There he played the role of sizar, which meant he received financial aid in exchange for specific jobs. In his study-work role, Newton also became a waiter, tending to other students' rooms. Now, how about that for Isaac Newton's inspirational facts?

Isaac Newton got good grades in school to piss off his schoolyard bully.

While studying at King's School, Grantham, he wasbulliedfor another child. The bully once kicked Newton in the stomach, but Newton challenged him to a fight after class. When the time came, young Isaac Newton won the fight.

After this incident, Newton decided to mentally dominate his bully as well, so he worked hard to become valedictorian of the school. He even built sundials and models of windmills to distinguish himself.

He was markedly religious.

Though born into an Anglican family, Newton held views considered unorthodox in mainstream Christianity. In fact, one historian even described him as a heretic. Even so, he devoted himself much to theological research.

In particular, he rejected the notion of the Trinity and considered the worship of Christ and the Holy Spirit to be idolatry. He also did a lot of research on the chronology ofA Bible, placing a date for the death of Jesus Christ as April 3, AD 33.

He made a list of his sins when he was 19.

Isaac Newton's religious views began early in his life. When she was 19, she even made a list of 57 sins she had committed before and after Pentecost Sunday in 1662. Some of these sins included baking cakes on a Sunday night, stealing plums and sugar from her mother's box, beating on his sister and even threatening his mother and stepfather that he would burn down their house. Without a doubt, one of the strangest facts about Isaac Newton.

ROYGBIV wouldn't be complete without its fondness for the number 7.

There are supposedly 7 colors in the rainbow, which most of us remember by the mnemonic ROYGBIV: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Sir Isaac Newton classified the visible spectrum into 7 separate colors, but originally there were 5. He later added orange and indigo because he believed the number 7 was sacred. After all, a week had 7 days, 7musicalnotes and 7 known planets at the time.

He did much of his work while staying at home during the Great Plague.

Isaac Newton obtained his BA in August 1665. Soon after, Cambridge University was closed as a precaution against the Great Plague of London. During this time, Isaac Newton spent his time at home conducting his own research.

Although not a distinguished student, his private research would later lay the groundwork for infinitesimal calculus,optics, and the law of universal gravitation.

Isaac Newton also studied alchemy.

Newton became interested in natural science early in his life, first exposed to alchemical studies when he stayed with the apothecary William Clarke. From then on, he carried out his own alchemical research and experiments, even stating that the main objective of his alchemy was to produce the Philosopher's Stone.

The Philosopher's Stone supposedly had the ability to turn metals intogoldand maybe even give eternal life to a person. This was a particularly dangerous activity because alchemy during its time was illegal and punishable by hanging.

He thinks the world won't end before 2060.

Part of Isaac Newton's occult studies is researching prophecies, including predictions of the end of the world. He was against setting a date for the end of the world, but there is a misconception that he made a prediction of the end times. He refuted current predictions about the end times and stated that the world is unlikely to end before the year 2060. According to him, the end could come much later.

One of his famous works almost never saw the light of day due to a book about fish.

The Royal Society promised to finance the publication of Newton's main work, thestart. However, before publication of thestart, this scientific organization spent a large amount of money to publish thefish story, or History of the Fishes. This work by John Ray and Francis Willughby had ornate illustrations of different types ofparts, but it largely failed in the marketplace, leading to the Royal Society not having sufficient funds to publish Newton's work.

Fortunately, Edmund Halley helped pay for the publication of Newton's work, largely out of his own pocket but also through fundraising. This highly influential work was finally printed in 1687.

He lost 20 years of research in a laboratory fire.

The scope of Sir Isaac Newton's alchemical work remains unclear because he lost some 20 years of research when his laboratory burned down. In a popular legend, favorite of Isaac Newtonpuppy, Diamond, was the culprit in the lab fire.

Newton supposedly exclaimed, "Oh, diamond, diamond, you scarcely know the damage you've done." However, this story is rather dubious, and another account said that a gust of wind simply knocked over a sail. Some historians even claim that Newton never had pets.

He didn't get along with Robert Hooke.

One of the most interesting facts about Isaac Newton is that he often clashed with other well-known scientists and mathematicians during his time. One of Newton's well-documented rivalries is with Robert Hooke. After Isaac Newton published his workoptics, Robert Hooke responded to some of his ideas with condescending criticism. This greatly offended Newton and he withdrew from public debate.

When Sir Isaac Newton publishedstart, where he explained the law of the universegravitation, Hooke claimed that he gave the idea to Newton in his correspondence. Newton denied this claim, however. He claimed that Hooke only renewed his interest in astronomy, but did not give him any new ideas.

Some historians say that Isaac Newton's quote, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants," is a subtle insult on a par with Robert Hooke. Hooke reportedly had a stooped back and was the shorter of the two men. Other historians, however, say this was just a statement of modesty rather than an insult. Regardless, most accounts claim these two great minds clashed and remained on bad terms until Hooke's death in 1703.

Isaac Newton developed calculus together with Gottfried Leibniz.

Although you might think otherwise, the credit for developing calculus doesn't just go to Sir Isaac Newton. Another mathematician, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, had a well-known dispute with Newton over who originally worked on and invented calculus.

Newton developed his concept of differentials (which he dubbed "fluxions") in the mid-1660s, but his work was not published for some time. However, Gottfried Leibniz developed his own theories and published them in 1684. The modern consensus now is that these two great mathematicians developed their own theories independently of each other.

Isaac Newton also served in Parliament, but contributed very little.

Among the most interesting facts about Isaac Newton is the fact that he briefly worked as a politician. When Isaac Newton was almost 40 years old between 1689 and 1690, he briefly became a Member of Parliament as a representative of the University of Cambridge. while thebill of rightscame to fruition during this period, most accounts note that Newton was not a significant contributor during his time as a politician.

Apparently, he only spoke once, and that was just him asking a doorman to close a window because it was cold. Due to his influence, Newton served in Parliament for a second term from 1701 to 1702. However, he still did not seem to make any significant contributions.

He liked portraits.

Despite Sir Isaac Newton's chronic loneliness and reclusive lifestyle, he painted his portrait extensively. Especially in the latter part of his life he was commissioned for over a dozen paintings of himself.

At the time, these portraits were of great value, and historian Mordechai Feingold claimed that only monarchs and some nobles had their portraits more often than Newton. Certainly one of the lesser known facts of Isaac Newton, but still interesting.

Queen Anne knighted him in 1705.

On a visit to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1705, Queen Anne knighted Sir Isaac Newton. Although some believe that his knighthood is due to his scientific work, it is more likely due to political considerations. After Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton is the second scientist to receive a knighthood.

He suffered from nervous breakdowns.

Even the brightest minds suffer from mental health issues. After his dispute with Robert Hooke over optics in 1678, Isaac Newton suffered a nervous breakdown. He had another in 1693, which he attributed to lack of sleep. Soon after, he withdrew from scientific research.

Some researchers suggest that his nervous breakdown may be the result of mercury poisoning from his alchemical research, but others attribute it to chronic depression.

Isaac Newton stuck a blunt needle into the eye socket in one of his experiments in optics.

Newton is famous for his work in optics and his study of the properties of light. He performed numerous experiments related to optics, using prisms in his private studies. However, one of the most amazing facts about Isaac Newton is that he also performed experiments on himself.

Perhaps grotesquely, Newton stuck a blunt-tipped needle betweenojoand your skull bone. In doing so, he intended to change the inner curvature of his eye and observe the resulting visual distortions.

He was not a big investor.

Although Isaac Newton was a brilliant scientist, he wasn't a particularly good investor. Isaac Newton owned shares in the South Sea Company, from which he made a huge profit in its early days, around 1710. After feeling that the market was getting out of hand, he pocketed £7,000 worth of investments. As the stock continued to rise, he invested again at a much higher price. Months later, the stock plummeted, causing Newton to lose most of his money.

In this famous South Seas Bubble, Isaac Newton apparently lost around £20,000, which is equivalent to millions of dollars in today's money. Exasperated, the brilliant scientist exclaimed that he could "calculate the movements of celestial bodies, but not the madness of people."

His mother originally wanted him to be a farmer.

When Isaac Newton was about 15 or 16 years old, his mother was widowed for the second time. She ordered him to stop going to school and become a farmer. Unsurprisingly, he apparently disliked farming and did poorly at work.

Eventually, Henry Stokes, then Headmaster of the King's School, persuaded Isaac Newton's mother to allow him to return to school and complete his studies. Stokes' persuasion proved successful, and consequently Isaac Newton returned to school and completed his education at the age of 18.

In 2010, a British astronaut took a piece of Newton's apple tree into outer space.

A British astronaut fromNASAcalledOne time dock vendorsHe asked the Royal Society to allow him to take a piece of Newton's iconic apple tree to the International Space Station. He did so in 2010, featuring an image of Isaac Newton floating in microgravity next to a piece of wood from the old apple tree that inspired his scientific work.

Piers Sellers did this as a tribute to Newton's work on the law of universal gravitation, which greatly contributed to the possibility of spaceflight.

The apple tree that inspired his work on gravitation is still alive.

newton's fableApple treeit still stands strong to this day, residing near Isaac Newton's boyhood home of Woolsthorpe Manor. The tree receives a lot of care to stay healthy and keep producing apples.

Isaac Newton worked as a keeper of the Royal Mint.

From 1696 to 1699, Sir Isaac Newton worked as Keeper of the Royal Mint. The Royal Mint produced the coinage of England. He then received a promotion and worked as Master of the Royal Mint in 1699, a post he held until 1727.

His work at the Mint involved replacing old coins with more reliable ones, as well as tracking down counterfeiters. Some of the criminals he investigated were accused of high treason, receiving the death penalty.

Isaac Newton taught as a professor at Cambridge.

In 1669, 26-year-old Isaac Newton took a job as a Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge. However, according to some researchers, he didn't care much for his students. One of the most disconcerting facts about Isaac Newton is that most of his students did not attend his lectures!

Isaac Newton died in his sleep.

The brilliant scientist reached the end of his life in 1727. Isaac Newton died in hissleep. Upon examining her hair, investigators found that her hair contained traces of mercury and led to the notion that mercury poisoning played a role in her nervous breakdown or death. However, he never experienced the typical symptoms of mercury poisoning, such as baldness and bleeding gums.

Newton died a famous and wealthy man, and his body was buried in Westminster Abbey. Other great scientists were later buried near Newton's grave, such as Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking.

Isaac Newton appears as a character in the main Marvel universe.

One of the most interesting facts about Isaac Newton is that he appears as a character inWonderfulThe main universe of , where he had the superpowers of superintelligence, flight, energy manipulation, and even the summoning of mystical creatures. He was also nearly immortal because he used the Elixir of Life. Furthermore, he also became a Sorcerer Supreme like Doctor Strange.