Isaac Newton

author

Isaac Newton

1642–1727

Best known for formulating the laws of motion and universal gravitation, this brilliant and famously private thinker helped reshape how people understand the physical world. His work in mathematics, optics, and astronomy still sits at the foundation of modern science.

4 Audiobooks

Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica

Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica

by Isaac Newton

The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended

The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended

by Isaac Newton

Opticks : or, A treatise of the reflections, refractions, inflections and colours of light

Opticks : or, A treatise of the reflections, refractions, inflections and colours of light

by Isaac Newton

Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John

Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John

by Isaac Newton

About the author

Born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, in 1642, Isaac Newton became one of history’s most influential mathematicians and natural philosophers. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, later served as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, and produced ideas that transformed several fields at once.

His 1687 book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica is widely regarded as one of the most important works in science, setting out the laws of motion and universal gravitation. Newton also made major advances in optics, showed that white light is made up of different colors, and built an early practical reflecting telescope.

Beyond his scientific work, he served as Warden and then Master of the Royal Mint, and he was elected president of the Royal Society. Though the apple story has become legendary, his real legacy is even more impressive: he gave later scientists a powerful mathematical way to describe the universe.