|
Sir Isaac Newton
| Sir Isaac Newton was born
on Christmas day over 350 years ago in 1642. He grew up in
Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. When he was young his father
died and his mother remarried to a member of the clergy. She left
Woolsthorpe to live with her new husband leaving Newton to grow up
with his grandparents. It was only when this husband died that she
returned to Woolsthorpe. |
|
|
|
The young Isaac went to the grammar school in nearby Grantham. Even at
this stage in his life he was seen as being rather studious, in fact some
called him 'odd' because of his amazing mental powers. Find out how
much you know about Newton by trying these two quizzes.
[Newton True or False
]
[
Newton Quiz]
Newton going to
university
Newton's mother wanted him to carry
on the family tradition of farming. It took a good deal of persuasion
before she let Isaac go to Cambridge University. He didn't join in with
the usual student pranks, instead he chose to spend his time studying and
thinking. When the plague broke out in Cambridge he was forced to return
to the family home at Woolsthorpe for a year.
Newton's finest hour
It was during this year that Newton
worked out binomial methods, developed calculus, worked out that light was
particulate and he conducted experiments on white light to discover that
it is a combination of all the colours of the rainbow. It is widely
agreed, even by Newton himself, that Newton was in his prime. After this
year, while he climbed the academic ladder to heady heights, he never
invented or discovered as much again.
Newton's academic career
He returned to Cambridge after the
plague. He was then offered the position of Lucasian professor of
mathematics, he was only 27. Not many years after this, he made a small
and powerful reflecting telescope. Upon showing it to the Royal Society he
was made a member of this organisation at once. Now that he was a member
of the Royal Society he took the opportunity to talk about his new
theories of light. This started a dispute with Robert Hooke about who
thought of the ideas first. This dispute lasted until Hooke's death over
ten years later.
Newton at the Royal Mint
When his academic career was over
he worked in London at the Royal Mint. The coins in the UK were very
easily faked so Newton had to sort this out. He often put on a disguise
and went into bars where he would listen in on other people's
conversations. This meant that he managed to successfully prosecute many
people who were faking coins. One of the most notorious fakers begged
Newton for his life before he was hung, drawn and quartered.
As well as catching fakers Newton was also responsible for changing all
the coins. Some unscrupulous people would trim the coins. But it was very
difficult to spot if this had happened. Engraving was put around the edges
of the coin so that people could tell their coins were intact. If you look
at your change you can see that this still happens today.
Newton lived in London until his death. He lived to a ripe old age of
85, not bad for 1727 when a lot of people didn't even reach adulthood.
| 
