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Revered as a great thinker

and scientist, he was

also obsessive, secretive,

vindictive, and paranoid.

BY RAYMOND SHUBINSKI

the

oddities

of

Isa ac Newton

It’s easy to think of Newton only as a lonely

and antisocial genius sitting at a desk, unraveling

the mysteries of the universe. Yet there is so

much more. In his lifetime, Newton vigorously

conducted experiments, constructed models,

conceived of the theory of gravity, and built the

first usable ref lecting telescope. He created a new

form of mathematics, reformed the currency of

England while Master of the Mint, and pursued

counterfeiters to their deaths on the scaffold.

He also studied the forbidden art of alchemy.

Newton was a deeply religious man, but a secret

nonconformer to the Church of England. He was

cantankerous, paranoid, and feared that his hard

work would be stolen by others.

Early life and experiments

Newton was a product of mid-17th century

England. To understand the man, we need to

understand the time and place in which he

lived. King Charles I was beheaded in 1649,

when Newton was 7 years old, and Oliver

Cromwell and his son ruled England with a

firm Puritanical hand for the next 11 years.

Newton and his family were members of the

Church of England, and young Isaac was

well versed in church doctrine. But his beliefs

changed as he grew older, ultimately putting

him in peril of dismissal from his post at the

University of Cambridge.

Born on Christmas Day 1642 (according to the

old Julian calendar then in use), Newton was a

sickly child and not expected to live. His father

died a few months prior to Newton’s birth, and his

mother, Hannah, remarried three years later.

Newton was left in the care of his maternal grand-

mother. Apparently, the young Isaac felt aban-

doned — years later, he listed as a grievous sin an

BY JUNE 1665, THE PLAGUE WAS BURNING THROUGH ENGLAND. A young University of

Cambridge student, Isaac Newton, had left the school and returned to his family farm at Woolsthorpe

Manor in Lincolnshire after the university closed. Here, he lived for two years in near isolation and

produced the greatest creative output of his life.

LEFT: A facsimile

of a letter from

Newton to Dr.

William Briggs,

written June 20,

1682, contains

Newton’s thoughts

on Briggs’ own

— ultimately

inaccurate —

theories on the

optic nerve and

vision. XTRASYSTOLE/

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

RIGHT: This

depiction of the

great thinker is

featured on

a collectible card

packaged with

cigarettes in the

1930s. RAYMOND SHUBINSKI