Topic > History Life of Sir Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1642 in Lincolnshire, England. Newton's father, Isaac Newton who was a farmer, died 3 months before Newton was born. Newton was not expected to survive because he was born small, feeble, and frail, but be that as it may, when he was 3 years old, his mother, Hannah Ayscough Newton, remarried a minister named Barnabas Smith, and went to live with him, and he left Newton with his grandmother. This experience later gave him insecurity. At 12, Newton's mother returned and with her 3 other children from her second marriage because he had died. Newton attended school at King's School in Grantham, Lincolnshire, where he stayed with a local apothecary and was introduced to the world of chemistry. Newton was also withdrawn from school at the age of 12. old by his mother, who wanted him to become a farmer and manage the farm. Newton was not good at farming and failed at it, so his mother sent him back to school at King's School to complete his basic education. Newton's uncle knew that Newton was intelligent but had simply not been challenged intellectually, so his uncle convinced Newton's mother to send Newton to Trinity College at Cambridge University when Newton's uncle graduated. In 1661 Newton joined a work-study program, in this program he waited tables and looked after the rooms of the wealthier students. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay When Newton attended Cambridge in the 17th century, the scientific revolution was already underway. The different visions of the universe theorized by astronomers Nicolaus Copernicus, John Kepler and Galileo were already well known in most European academic curricula. Like most European universities, Cambridge was primarily interested in Aristotle's philosophies and views of nature. During his first three years at Cambridge, he was taught the standard curriculum but was fascinated by the more advanced sciences. In all his free time he used it to read books on modern philosophy. During this period Newton kept a series of notes, entitled "Quaestiones Quaedam Philosophicae" ("Some Philosophical Questions"). The "Questions" reveal that Newton had discovered a new concept of nature for the Scientific Revolution. Although Newton graduated without honors, his work earned him the title of scholar and four years of financial support for his future education. By 1665, the Great Plague sweeping across Europe had arrived in Cambridge, forcing the university to close. After a two-year hiatus, Newton returned to Cambridge in 1667 and was elected a junior fellow of Trinity College, Newton not yet considered a scholar. Over the next two years his fortune improved and in 1669 Newton received his Master of Arts. Newton quickly wrote an exposition and shared it with his friend and mentor Isaac Barrow, but did not include his name as the author. In June 1669, Barrow shared the unauthorized manuscript with the British mathematician John Collins. In August 1669, Barrow identified its author to Collins as "Mr. Newton, a remarkably young genius with scientific ability. This was the first time that Newton's work was brought to the attention of mathematicians. Shortly thereafter, Barrow decided to quit his job." job at Cambridge, and Newton accepted Barrow's job. Newton began studying light and not everyone at the Royal Academy was enthusiastic about Newton's discoveries about light and his publication of the book, Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colors of Light in 1704. Among those who Robert Hooke, one of the members, did not appreciate Newton's discoveriesoriginals of the Royal Academy and a scientist who achieved many things in his life in different areas of which Newton theorized light particles, Hooke believed that light was composed of waves. Then Hooke condemned Newton's article in condescending ways and attacked Newton's theories, work, experiments, processes and conclusions. However Hooke was not the only one to question Newton's work on light, a renowned Dutch scientist, Christiaan Huygens, and many French Jesuits also disagreed with Newton's theories. But because of Hooke's connection with the Royal Society and his own work in the field of light, Hooke's criticisms hurt Newton most. Newton was unable to handle Hooke's criticism, he went mad, and his reaction to Hooke's criticism would continue throughout his life. Hooke claimed that Newton's theories had flaws and argued for the importance of his discoveries for all of science. Months later, the exchange between the two men became more acrimonious, and Newton began to consider leaving the company for good. He only stayed because several other members assured him that other people and members believed in him and held him in good stead. The rivalry between Newton and Hooke continued for several years. The following year was not the best year for Newton because his mother died and this made him isolate himself even more, and for six years he withdrew from intellectual exchange except when other people spoke to him, but even then he kept the conversation short. During his isolation from public life, Newton returned to his studies of gravitation and its effects on the orbits of the planets. The motivation that put Newton in the right direction in this study came from Robert Hooke, in 1679 a letter of general correspondence was written to the members of the Royal Society for Hooke's contributions. Hooke wrote to Newton and raised the question of planetary motion, suggesting that a formula is a necessity involving inverse squares could explain the attraction between planets and the shape of their orbits. Newton solved the problem 18 years ago during his break from Cambridge and the plague, but could not find his notes. One of Newton's friends convinced him to solve the problem mathematically and offered to pay at all costs so that the ideas could be published, which they were, in Newton's book Principia, published in 1687. After the publication of the Principia, Newton was ready for a new direction in his life as he did not find happiness in his position at Cambridge, he became more involved in other matters. He helped lead the resistance to King James II's attempts to restart Catholic teaching in Cambridge, and in 1689 Newton was elected to represent Cambridge in Parliament. While in London, he met with a group of intellectuals and became acquainted with a political philosopher named John Locke. A young generation of British scientists became interested in Newton's new worldview and placed him as their leader. One of Newton's followers was a friend, a Swiss mathematician he met while in London, Nicolas Fatio de Duillier. In 1696, Newton succeeded in obtaining the government position he had long sought: director of the Mint; after obtaining this new title, he moved to London and lived with his niece, Catherine Barton. She was the mistress of Lord Halifax, a high-ranking government official who gave Newton promotion in 1699 to master of the mint, a position he held until his death. Not wanting it to be considered a mere honorary position, Newton approached the task seriously, reforming money and severely punishing those who counterfeited money. As master of the mint, Newton moved the British currency, the pound, from silver to the gold standard. Please note: this is just an example. Get a personalized document now come on.