Marie, Alex, Kristin, Whitney and Emma
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Isaac Newton was born on December 25th
1642 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire after the
death of his father, also named Isaac.
 When he was barely three years old
Newton's mother, Hanna (Ayscough),
placed her first born with his grandmother
in order to remarry and raise a second
family with Barnabas Smith, a wealthy
rector from nearby North Witham.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
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Much has been made of Newton's
posthumous birth, his prolonged separation
from his mother, and his hatred of his
stepfather. Until Hanna returned to
Woolsthorpe in 1653 after the death of her
second husband, Newton was denied his
mother's attention, a possible clue to his
complex character.
Newton's childhood was anything but happy,
and throughout his life he verged on emotional
collapse, occasionally falling into violent and
vindictive attacks against friend and foe alike.
EDUCATION TRAINING
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Newton attended school in Woolsthorpe, near
Grantham in Lincolnshire
He entered Cambridge University in 1661; he
was elected a Fellow of Trinity College in
1667, and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics
in 1669. He remained at the university,
lecturing in most years, until 1696. Of these
Cambridge years, in which Newton was at the
height of his creative power, he singled out
1665-1666 (spent largely in Lincolnshire
because of plague in Cambridge) as "the
prime of my age for invention".
EDUCATION IN THE 17TH CENTURY
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There was little change in education in the 17th
century. In well off families both boys and girls
went to a form of infant school called a petty
school. However only boys went to grammar
school. Upper class girls (and sometimes boys)
were taught by tutors. Middle glass girls might
be taught by their mothers. Moreover during the
17th century boarding schools for girls were
founded in many towns. In them girls were
taught subjects like writing, music and
needlework. (It was considered more important
for girls to learn 'accomplishments' than to study
academic subjects).
Patronage
Other scientists were his influence
particularly Nicolas Fatio de Duillier
 Nicolas was impressed by Newton's
gravitational theory. In 1691, he planned to
prepare a new version of Newton's
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
Mathematica, but never finished it.
 In 1694, their relationship diminished. At
this time, several letter exchanges with
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz also took place.
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Power vs. Education
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Throughout this time period, power was more
important than education to some , however Isaac
Newton felt his education was also a priority. That did
not mean he did not want or enjoy power in society
During his London years Newton enjoyed power and
worldly success. His position at the Mint assured a
comfortable social and economic status, and he was
an active and able administrator.
After the death of Hooke in 1703, Newton was
elected president of the Royal Society and was
annually re-elected until his death. In 1704 he
published his second major work, the Opticks, based
largely on work completed decades before.
Greatest Discovery

The Principia. Newton's masterpiece is divided into
three books. Book I of the Principia begins with eight
definitions and three axioms, the latter now known as
Newton's laws of motion. No discussion of Newton
would be complete without them: (1) Every body
continues in its state of rest, or uniform motion in a
straight line, unless it is compelled to change that
state by forces impressed on it (inertia). (2) The
change in motion is proportional to the motive force
impressed and is made in the direction of the straight
line in which that force is impressed (F = ma). (3) To
every action there is always an opposed and equal
reaction. Following these axioms, Newton proceeds
step by step with propositions, theorems, and
problems.
Other Accomplishments
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Devised many solutions to contemporary
problems in analytical geometry
Invented Calculus
Elected Member of Parliament for the
University of Cambridge to the Convention
Parliament of 1689
Wrote Opticks in 1692
Became Mater of the Royal Mint in 1699
Became President of the Royal Society of
London in 1703 and remained President until
his death
Knighted in 1705
Opposition
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His opposition was mostly for his theories of
coloured light
The roots of these unconventional ideas were with
Newton by about 1668; when first expressed (tersely
and partially) in public in 1672 and 1675, they
provoked hostile criticism, mainly because colours
were thought to be modified forms of homogeneous
white light.
Doubts, and Newton's rejoinders, were printed in the
learned journals. Notably, the scepticism of
Christiaan Huygens and the failure of the French
physicist Edmé Mariotte to duplicate Newton's
refraction experiments in 1681 set scientists on the
Continent against him for a generation.
Opposition
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The publication of Opticks, largely
written by 1692, was delayed by Newton
until the critics were dead. The book
was still imperfect: the colours of
diffraction defeated Newton.
Nevertheless, Opticks established itself,
from about 1715, as a model of the
interweaving of theory with quantitative
experimentation.
His Death
Isaac Newton died on March 31st 1727
in London England
 He was buried in Westminster Abbey
 Many say he died of an illness, most
likely kidney stones, but because he
died in his sleep, people are unsure
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Multiple Choice Questions
What University Did Isaac Newton Study
and Teach At?
 A: Trinity College
 B: Oxford University
 C: St. Andrew’s College
 D: Cambridge University
 E: University of Manchester
Multiple Choice Questions
Who was Isaac Newton Influenced By?
 A: Galileo
 B: Nicolas Fatio de Duillier
 C: Johannes Kapler
 D: Tycho Brahe
 E: Niels Bohr
Multiple Choice Questions
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Which Of The Following is Not One of The Three
Laws of Motion?
A: For every action there is an equal and opposite
re-action.
B: An object at rest will remain at rest unless
acted on by an unbalanced force.
C: The trajectory of a point mass in a gravitational
field depends only on its initial position and
velocity, and is independent of its composition.
D: Acceleration is produced when a force acts on
a mass.