25 Dec 1642 – 20 Mar 1727
Isaac Newton was one of the influential scentists, let alone physicists of all time. He was born in Woolthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Lincolnshire on 25 Dec 1642 and died on the 10 Mar 1727 (Aged 84) in Kensington, London. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and buried at Westimster Abbey, London.
His work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) 1687, laid the foundations for classical mechanics by formulating the laws of motion and universal gravitation. These he applied to both objects on earth and celestial bodies. He derived Kepler’s laws of planetary motion from his own mathematical descriptions of gravity and also built the first reflecting telescope and made significant contributions to optics.