Sir Isaac Newton
Uploaded by ebabe13 on Apr 13, 2004
Sir Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton could easily be considered one of the greatest minds in history. He was an all around genius. He was a mathematician, a natural philosopher, an inventor, and an English physicist. Some of the phenomenal things he did include studying how light reacts to reflection, formulating laws of universal gravitation and motion, and built the first ever reflecting telescope.
In 1642 Isaac Newton was born into a very poor farming family inWoolsthorpe, England. When he was very young, his grandma took over and raised him. During this time, he and his grandma lived with a man who took Newton under his wing. There Newton discovered his love for chemical operations. Even thought Newton was terrible at grammar and school in general, (at his school in a nearby town) he excelled when it came to using his hands. He made sundials, model windmills, a water clock, a mechanical carriage, and flew kites with lanterns attached to their tails. At only 14, Newton’s mother had taken him out of school to continue the family farming. Since his father died before he was even born, Newton didn’t have much of a father figure to help teach him how to farm properly. Even though he was great with his hands, he was horrible at farming. His ex-teacher had found him to be a diamond in the ruff. The family was then persuaded to let him go to the University of Cambridge to study to become a preacher. He was accepted into Cambridge in the year of 1161. His studies included arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, astronomy, and optics. One of Newton’s professors was Isaac Barrow. The two of them clicked. Barrow could see Newton’s desire for learning. Thus he challenged him with great passion.
When Newton was 23 he had already received his bachelor’s degree. Just that year, 1665, the very deadly bubonic plague a.k.a. the Black Death had hit. Newton was forced to leave Cambridge. He had returned back to his home town of Woolsthorpe. He stayed there for two years to do independent studies. This is what started Newton to study the things he is known for by today. In some sick and twisted way, the Black Death could be considered a good thing. In the sense that if it had never happened, then we might never have laws of gravity. While at home he made great...