Sir Isaac Newton

Date of Birth:  1/4/1643

Date of Death:  3/31/1727

Birthplace:  Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth Lincolnshire, England

Sir Isaac Newton is considered by some to be the most influential man in the history of science, more so than even Albert Einstein.   He was born in England, spent much of his time and eventually died there.  Newton, along with Gottfried Leibniz, is credited with the development of Calculus.  There remains much controversy over the true discoverer of calculus.  Newton accused Leibniz of plagiarism, but no proof was ever found.  Today, most historians accept that the two men discovered calculus independently. 

In addition to his vast contributions to the fields of mathematics, Newton is also credited with the development of many topics in, among other things, philosophy, astronomy, and physics.  You may have heard of Newton's Laws of Motion, in particular his first and third laws (paraphrased below).

First Law:  an object in motion stays in motion, and an object at rest stays at rest unless and external forces acts upon it.

Third Law:  for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Return from Sir Isaac Newton to other Famous Math People.