Newton, Isaac (1642–1727)
Isaac Newton was born at Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolnshire. He entered Cambridge University as a student in 1661. Although much is known of Newton's professional life, little is known about Newton's student life. He studied under Isaac Barrow, the Lucasian professor of mathematics. He was forced by the plague of 1665–1666 to return to Lincolnshire where, during the miraculous year of 1666, he forged the foundations for his considerable achievements in mathematics, optics, and dynamics.
After returning to Cambridge in 1667, Newton was elected Fellow of Trinity College. Two years later he succeeded Barrow as Lucasian Professor. In 1696 Newton moved to London. He served first as Warden and from 1699 to his death in 1727 as Master of the Royal Mint. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1671, and the President of this society in 1703, a position he retained for the rest of his life. He also served two undistinguished terms as a Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge (1689–1690 and 1701–1702). He was knighted in Cambridge in 1705.
In the period following the War of the Spanish Succession of 1714, Newton enjoyed a reputation as the most important natural philosopher of his day.
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