12 interesting facts about Sir Isaac Newton that you probably didn’t know

Sir Isaac Newton, about whom Albert Einstein said, “The smartest person ever lived”.

Sir Isaac Newton is regarded as one of the greatest scientists ever lived in the world. He had interest in several science fields such as Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy and was a key figure in the scientific revolution in 17th century. He is known as “the father of modern science” and his theories on gravity, optics and motions benefit even today’s scientific experiments. Here, we have gathered some amazing facts about him that you probably didn’t know.

1. Newton’s father had died just three months before he was born. His father was a farmer and was also called Isaac Newton.
2. Newton was born premature and according to his mother, he was so small that he could fit into a quart sized mug. In fact, he was so sick that some believed he wouldn’t survive long.
3. Newton was born in the same year Galileo died. Just a coincidence?
4. Newton’s childhood was mostly unhappy. His mother remarried when he was three years old and he never liked his stepfather. However, his maternal grandmother raised him for many years.
5. Newton’s mother wanted him to become a farmer but he always hated farming.
6. Sir Isaac Newton was extremely shy and introvert in his childhood. This is why he used to get bullied in his school.
7. Newton had to do many part time jobs to pay for his education.
8. After completing his bachelor’s degree at Trinity College of Cambridge University, Newton wanted to continue his education and even won a scholarship which allowed him to leave all his part time jobs and concentrate more on studies. But at that time, Cambridge was closed for two years because of the Black Death Plague. Therefore, Newton had to return home at Woolsthorpe Manor and during this time, he discovered several new ideas on gravity, motion, light, calculus etc.
9. Although the story about Newton getting inspiration from a falling apple to research on gravity is popular all around the world, there is no proper evidence about it.
10. At the age of 27 years, he became a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University.
11. Newton was a very religious man and wrote a lot about religion and alchemy. He kept all those papers hidden during his whole lifetime and it was in 1960’s when those papers were published.
12. He was elected as a member of the Parliament of England to represent Cambridge University. Later, he also became the master of the Royal mint and helped Britain to overcome financial crisis in the 17th century.

Newton was undoubtedly a genius scientist. He passed away at the age of 84 due to severe stomach pain.