Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1723) was a British physicist, mathematician, and astrologist that contributed greatly to the development of modern physics. Most famously known for his laws of motion as well as the story about an apple falling from a tree, Newton greatly influenced other physicists who followed, including Albert Einstein and Edmond Halley.



Early life
Newton was born 3 months premature on December 25, 1642 to a widowed mother. After his mother remarried when Isaac was 3 years old, his mother sent him off to live with his grandmother. From age 12 to 17, Isaac's grandmother had the young boy enrolled in The Kings School, Grantham where he studied Greek and Latin. At 17 years old, his mother was widowed once again and came to reclaim her son from his grandmother and once she took Isaac home, she pulled him out of school and forced him into becoming a farmer. The farming profession proved to be unsuccessful and Isaac once again was enrolled in school where he caught the attention of his uncle, who encouraged the teen to enroll at Cambridge.

College Years
Newton began school at Cambridge as a subsizar, a student who pays for their tuition through work done on campus, but eventually was awarded at scholarship in 1664 to complete his masters degree. At Cambridge, Newton's education was based largely off of the old teaching of Aristotle although Isaac began to pay more attention to the modern scientists of the time, such as Descartes and Galileo and kept a book of questions that he had about mechanical philosophy that eventually became known as "Quaestiones quaedam philosophicae". After the plague broke out in Europe, Cambridge decided to close its doors for two years from 1665 to 1667 and these years would prove very beneficial for the young physicist. Although Newton was not in school during these years, this was the time that he learned the most.

Contributions to Physics
During the two years that Newton was absent from school, he developed his theories on Calculus, and a few years later he would discover his Laws of Motion. After witnessing an apple fall from a tree, Newton hypothesized that some force was causing the apple to fall, which led to the concept of gravity. Isaac Newton also created his 3 laws of motion that changed physics forever and consisted of:

1. In an inertial reference frame, an object remains either at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an outside force.

2. In an inertial reference frame, the vector of the  F on an object is equal to the  m of that object multiplied by the  a of the object: F = ma.

3. When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.

Although these are only 3 seemingly simple laws, they changed the course of modern physics and answered many unanswered questions of the time. From explaining planetary motion to providing reasons for the tides, Newton's laws could be considered the most influential contribution to physics.

Recognitions and Legacy
During his life, Newton received many awards and recognitions for his work in math and science. First off, he was selected to represent Cambridge university in parliament and later became knighted by the king, the highest honor in England. Newton was also admitted into the Royal society, an academy of science, in 1703 and eventually served as president of his elite association. Following his death in 1726, Isaac Newton was also granted a burial in Westminster Abbey, a great accomplishment, thanks to his contributions to science