WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 35
these symptoms could have all been the result of
mercury poisoning. Alchemists thought mercury
played a major role in the transmutation process,
and Newton used a lot of it. Heavy metal vapor must
have filled his rooms. He even drank the stuff and
complained of the aftertaste. It’s a miracle he lived.
In 1979, scientists subjected strands of Newton’s
hair to neutron activation and atomic absorption
analysis. The results may explain the near mental
breakdown the great scientist experienced in 1693.
His hair, which the Earl of Portsmouth’s family had
preserved for generations — the thinker’s niece had
married into the family, and his relics had passed to
her upon his death — showed elevated levels
of mercury, up to 40 times higher than
normal. High levels of lead and arsenic
were also present.
Capturing counterfeiters
When the post for Warden of the
Royal Mint opened in 1696, Newton
was offered the job; he was later
appointed to Master of the Mint in 1699.
He left the University of Cambridge for the
mint, which would be the final position he held
during his life.
At the time, England’s currency was on the verge
of collapse due to rampant counterfeiting. For cen-
turies, coins had been struck by hand, leaving them
with uneven edges. People would “clip” the edges
and keep the excess, thus devaluing the coin. It was
also easy to counterfeit these coins. Newton’s duties
included overseeing the industrialization and stan-
dardization of the nation’s coinage.
He was also charged with finding and prosecut-
ing counterfeiters. This was not to Newton’s liking.
He protested the “vexatious and dangerous” duties
but was told they were part of the job description.
So, as in everything else, Newton plunged into this
work. He began to pursue these malefactors and see
that they were sent to the gallows. In his book
Newton and the Counterfeiter, Thomas Levenson
describes in detail Newton’s efforts to see such crim-
inals hanged. His words and actions indicate he may
have enjoyed seeing such rough justice done. It was
not uncommon for Newton to personally go
undercover in seedy bars and other areas
of London in pursuit of his quarry.
Newton was a complex man living
in a complicated age. It was a time
when magic and science still inter-
mingled, an age of tremendous intel-
lectual advancement and lingering
ignorance. When Newton died, his
estate was worth more than $4 million in
today’s currency. Even with all this wealth,
Newton wore a gold ring set with a small but power-
ful magnetic lodestone, rather than some other
valuable gem. The ancient word lode means path or
journey, and Isaac Newton surely opened new paths
along a complex and at times difficult journey.Raymond Shubinski is a frequent contributing editor
to Astronomy with an interest in science history.These stamps were issued by the
U.K.’s Royal Mail service in March 1987
to celebrate the 300th anniversary of
Principia’s publication. They depict
Newton’s work with light and color, as
well as his characterization of gravity
and its description of the orbital
motion of bodies, which applies to
modern satellites and planets alike.
RAYMOND SHUBINSKIABOVE: Newton and his
apple tree feature on
this 1930s collectable
card, which was
packaged with Sunblest
Tea. RAYMOND SHUBINSKILEFT: Queen Anne was
crowned in 1702, while
Newton was Master of
the Mint. Coins such as
this silver half crown
featuring Anne are
renowned for their
adherence to his
stringent standards,
enacted to reduce
counterfeiting.
ADAM CARR/ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA