Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton (December 25, 1642 - March 20, 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian and author (described in his own day as a “natural philosopher”), who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Foundations of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687, laid the foundations of classical mechanics. Newton also made a significant contribution to optics and shares a loan with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for the development of the calculus of infinitely small quantities. In Principles, Newton formulated the laws of motion and universal gravity, which formed the dominant scientific point of view, until it was replaced by the theory of relativity. Newton used his mathematical description of gravity to prove the laws of motion of the Kepler planets, explain tides, comet trajectories, precessions of the equinoxes and other phenomena, eliminating doubts about the solar system's heliocentricity. He demonstrated that the movement of objects on Earth and celestial bodies can be explained by the same principles. Newton’s conclusion that the Earth is a flattened spheroid was later confirmed by the geodesic measurements of Maupertuis, La Condamine and others, convincing most European scientists of the superiority of Newtonian mechanics over earlier systems.