Sir Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, astronomer, theologian and physicist. In his time he was described as a natural philosopher and was widely known as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a leading player in the scientific revolution. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay His book Principia was published in 1687 and was used by many scientists and laid the foundation for many areas of science. Newton also made revolutionary contributions to optics and together with Gottfried Willhelm Leibnez helped develop calculus. Newton's Principia created the laws of motion and universal gravitation that controlled scientists' views on science for hundreds of years. Using Kepler's law of planetary motion and his mathematical description of gravity, Newton erased any doubt about the heliocentric model of the planets and demonstrated that the motion of the Earth and the universe could be explained by the same principles. Newton's prediction that the Earth is shaped like a sphere was proven and he later proved that the path around the earth was an ellipse. Newton also built the first reflecting telescope and developed a theory of color based on the observation that a prism releases white light in the colors you can see. Newton's work on light was written about in his book Optiks, published in 1704. He also created a cooling law and formulated the first theory of the speed of sound. As a mathematician Newton contributed to the study of power series, generalized the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents, and created a way to find the roots of a function. In addition to his work in the mathematical sciences, Newton devoted much of his time to the study of alchemy and biblical chronology, but most of his work in those areas was not used until long after his death. Linked politically and personally to the Whig Party, Newton served two brief terms as Member of Parliament for Cambridge University in 1689 and 1701. He was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705 and spent the last three decades of his life in London. . Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The son of a farmer, who died three months before his birth, Newton spent most of his early years with his maternal grandmother after his mother remarried. Newton hated his stepfather and felt some resentment towards his mother for marrying him. His uncle advised him to enter Cambridge and thus began his scientific life. In 1666 he developed his theories on gravitation at just 23 years old. Then, just 2 years later, he built the first reflecting telescope. Newton went to school during the Great Plague and during the 18 month period when school was suspended was when many of his ideas about gravity came to him. Then, after his return, his friend and mentor Isaac Barrow resigned as Lucasion professor and Newton took over his position. After a few years he wanted to devote himself to other things and resigned from Cambridge and became more politically involved, but also concentrated more on his biblical writings. Newton wrote 1.3 million words on biblical subjects but they were hidden until the auction of his non-scientific writings in 1936. Newton studied the Bible with a strong interest in miracles and prophecies and also calculated the dates of the Old Testament. He often analyzed the text of the Bible and discovered its author. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Isaac Newton was one of the greatest scientists of all time..