Person · 5403–5487 AM · 1643 CE — 1727 CE
Isaac Newton
The laws of motion and gravitation: the Principia, calculus, optics
The Principia appeared in 1687. Half his life he spent on something other than physics. He wrote more on the interpretation of Daniel and Ezekiel than on optics, and devoted a whole treatise to the dimensions of the First Temple: he held that its plan contained the measure of the world, analysed the cubit, studied Ezekiel 40–43, and used the commentaries of Rashi and other Jewish commentators in Latin translation. He also denied the Trinity—secretly, since it would have cost him his Cambridge fellowship.
His dates depend on the style: Old Style 25 December 1642—20 March 1726, New Style 4 January 1643—31 March 1727. New Style is used here.
Sources
Scholarship
- The Newton Project, Oxford; Wikipedia, “Isaac Newton” — Old and New Style shift both years; the writings on the Temple and on Daniel
Basis: documents and evidence.