Isaac Newton Facts
Isaac Newton is one of the most famous scientists of all time, and he discovered some amazing things.
Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England on 4 January 1643.
But in those days the calendar was different to what it is now, and if you used that calendar then he was actually born on Christmas Day!
He was apparently born too early, and because of this his Mum said he could fit into a quart size mug, which is about the size of a liter.
That’s pretty tiny don’t you think?
His Dad was a rich farmer but he sadly died before this very clever young man was born.
His Grandparents looked after him as his Mom married someone else and moved away to go and live with him.
He didn’t like his step-dad at all, and was very cross with his Mom for leaving him.
Not very surprising!
He loved to draw and paint and he would cover the walls and ceilings of his bedroom with all sorts of colors.
Would your parents like you drawing all over your walls and ceiling? Don’t think so!
Did you know that Isaac Newton was actually expelled from school when he was about 12 years old? Well he was, and it was because he fought with one of the other students!
Just after that his step-dad died and his Mom took him out of school and wanted him to be a farmer.
But it wasn’t meant to be as he hated farming.
So, back he went to school again and landed up being the top student! No wonder he was such a brilliant man.
He absolutely loved sundials and building model windmills. Now that’s cool.
University Life
When he was 19 off he went to Cambridge University in England.
He couldn’t afford to pay for it, so he worked part-time as a valet, which was like being a servant that looked after gentlemen’s clothes and what they looked like.
Wow, he certainly wanted an education.
But then lucky for him, the university saw how talented he was and they offered him a scholarship.
No more valeting for him then!
When he was at university, this is when he became really keen on maths. He was so brilliant that he became a Professor of Mathematics when he was just 27 years old.
That’s unbelievable to be a professor at that age!
He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society, which was a group of scientists in England. Clearly everyone could see how clever he really was.
It got better still…a bit later on he was asked to represent Cambridge University as a member of parliament. This is really funny.
Apparently no one seems to know what he did there other than moan about the cold passages throughout the buildings.
Clearly he wasn’t all that keen on this job he was asked to do. Apparently he was a bit of a grump!
While he worked here, for a full year, he only ever said one sentence apparently!
He asked an usher to close an open, drafty window!
Newton’s Inventions and Discoveries
He definitely liked to work on his own, and Cambridge University had to close because of the Great Plague.
As soon as this happened, off he went home on his merry way and did lots and lots of thinking, and this is where some of his most important work was done!
He discovered loads of things …here are some of the most important ones
He discovered what is called the Law of Universal Gravitation.
Apparently this discovery came about when he saw an apple falling from a tree, and this led him to the conclusion that:
“Whatever goes up must come down.”
Eventually of course, this discovery allowed people to understand how the planets and the sun moved around.
Guess what happened to the tree?
Well the King’s School in Grantham, Lincolnshire, apparently bought it and moved it to its own garden.
Wonder how much they paid for it!
He also discovered the Laws of Motion on which mechanics is based.
The first law of motion he described as, “An object in motion wants to stay in motion, and an object at rest wants to stay at rest.”
Do you know what force is? It is measured in Newtons, which is named after guess who?
Have you heard of Calculus? Well then this is the man who invented it!
It is a part of maths that works out changes in the rate of change, like the speeding up or slowing down of a moving vehicle which is used in engineering and science.
He invented the Reflecting Telescope where he used mirrors to reflect light and create images from that.
They still use this in major telescopes today.
Interesting Facts About Isaac Newton
The Bible was Sir Isaac’s greatest passion!
Did you know that he wrote way more about religion that he did about science and mathematics? Wow!
He was the one who calculated the date of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ as April 3, A.D. 33 and the earliest date of the Apocalypse as 2060 A.D.
In 1705 he was lucky enough to be made a Knight by Queen Anne.
He died not too long after that, on 20 March 1727.
Isaac Newton died in his sleep, nice and peacefully, and was buried in Westminster Abbey in England.
Apparently after he died, they found mercury in his hair from all those crazy experiments he used to do.
Loads of people thought that this was why he acted a bit crazy in his later life, as mercury is poisonous. That could explain it!
How is this for weird? One of Isaac Newton’s teeth was sold in 1816 for £730.
A posh and wealthy man bought it and had it set in a ring!
Hmmm, that would be a bit weird having a ring with a tooth in it!
Sir Isaac Newton is still thought of as one of the most amazing and brilliant scientists of all time, and he will probably always be known as a brilliant mind!
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Questions about Isaac Newton (all answers found on this page).