Isaac Newton: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- history of scienceNewton
- biophysicsHistorical background
- biologyThe development of taxonomic principles
- Royal Society
- universeThe Copernican revolution
- DeismThe English Deists
- geoidThe introduction of triangulation
- least squares method
- history of the blindThe blind during the Enlightenment
- How Was Gravity Discovered?
- survival of the fittestUse in evolutionary theory
- Today in HistoryâJanuary 13The King, the Gold, the Kingdom in Revolt
- Scientific RevolutionMechanics
- University of CambridgeHistory
- Isaac Barrow
- Samuel Clarke
- CartesianismCartesian mechanism
- John Flamsteed
- Edmond HalleyHalley and Newton
- Robert Hooke
- David HumeAs a philosopher
- Christiaan Huygens
- Immanuel KantBackground and early years
- Johannes Kepler
- Keplerâs laws of planetary motion
- Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace
- John Locke
- John LockeLast years and influence
- James Clerk Maxwell
- John Stuart MillPublic life and writing of John Stuart Mill
- VoltaireReturn to France
- John Wallis
- binomial theorem
- ellipsoid
- analytic geometryElementary analytic geometry
- projective geometryProjective conic sections
- geometryThe world system
- numerical analysisHistorical background
- analysisDiscovery of the calculus and the search for foundations
- analysisDiscovery of the theorem
- calculus
- acousticsModern advances
- Algebraic Versus Transcendental Objects
- calculus of variations
- analysisNewton and differential equations
- mathematicsThe precalculus period
- Infinitesimals
- foundations of mathematicsCalculus reopens foundational questions
- Western philosophyThe Enlightenment
- atomThe emergence of experimental science
- atomismThe existence of the void
- philosophy of physicsThe Newtonian conception of the universe
- philosophy of historyTheological origins
- positivismThe critical positivism of Mach and Avenarius
- timeEarly modern and 19th-century scientific philosophies of time
Additional Reading
I. Bernard Cohen, Introduction to Newtonâs âPrincipiaâ (1971), a history of the development and modification of Newtonâs major work, is the first volume of Cohenâs edition of the Principia and includes variant readings. Additional collections of Newtonian materials, all with valuable introductory essays, include D.T. Whiteside (ed.), The Mathematical Papers of Isaac Newton, 8 vol. (1967â81); A. Rupert Hall and Marie Boas Hall (eds. and trans.), Unpublished Scientific Papers of Isaac Newton (1962, reissued 1978); I. Bernard Cohen and Robert E. Schofield (eds.), Isaac Newtonâs Papers & Letters on Natural Philosophy and Related Documents, 2nd ed. (1978); and H.W. Turnbull et al. (eds.), Correspondence, 7 vol. (1959â77), a collection of Newtonâs letters, 1661â1727. Peter Wallis and Ruth Wallis, Newton and Newtoniana, 1672â1975 (1977), is a bibliography.
A standard biography of Newton is David Brewster, Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton, 2 vol. (1855, reprinted 1965). A more-modern work by Richard S. Westfall, Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton (1980, reissued 1990), also available in a shorter version, The Life of Isaac Newton (1993), is a comprehensive study of Newton in light of new scholarship. Gale E. Christianson, In the Presence of the Creator: Isaac Newton and His Times (1984), includes much contextual information. Frank E. Manuel, A Portrait of Isaac Newton (1968, reprinted 1990), offers a fascinating Freudian analysis, and his The Religion of Isaac Newton (1974) is a thorough discussion of his religious thought. Derek Gjertsen, The Newton Handbook (1986), comprises hundreds of brief entries on topics related to Newton and his era.
General treatments of the major problems in Newtonian science are found in Cohenâs Franklin and Newton: An Inquiry into Speculative Newtonian Experimental Science and Franklinâs Work in Electricity as an Example Thereof (1956, reissued 1966); John Fauvel (ed.), Let Newton Be! (1988), a collection of essays on Newton and his work, with illustrations; and A. Rupert Hall, Isaac Newton, Adventurer in Thought (1992), a summary of recent research. John Herivel, The Background to Newtonâs Principia: A Study of Newtonâs Dynamical Researches in the Years 1664â84 (1965); and Richard S. Westfall, Force in Newtonâs Physics: The Science of Dynamics in the Seventeenth Century (1971), explore the development of Newtonâs mechanics. Newtonâs Opticks is treated in Hallâs All Was Light: An Introduction to Newtonâs Opticks (1993). Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs, The Foundations of Newtonâs Alchemy; or, âThe Hunting of the Greene Lyonâ (1975, reissued 1983), and The Janus Faces of Genius: The Role of Alchemy on Newtonâs Thought (1991), examine Newtonâs alchemical studies. Cohenâs The Newtonian Revolution (1980), evaluates the historical importance of Newtonâs style of scientific thought. Alexandre KoyrĂ©, Newtonian Studies (1965), contains a collection of essays by one of the master historians of science. Phillip Bricker and R.I.G. Hughes (eds.), Philosophical Perspectives on Newtonian Science (1990), is an advanced treatment, requiring familiarity with Newtonâs texts.
Major Works
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687; Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1729); Opticks (1704); Arithmetica Universalis (1707; Universal Arithmetick, 1720); The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended (1728); Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John (1733).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Richard S. Westfall
-
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Contributors
- Daniel Iria Machado
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
- Vivek Abhinav
- Adam Augustyn
- Piyush Bhathya
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Aakanksha Gaur
- Erik Gregersen
- John Higgins
- Parul Jain
- Mindy Johnston
- Thinley Kalsang Bhutia
- Gloria Lotha
- John M. Cunningham
- Richard Pallardy
- Melissa Petruzzello
- Emily Rodriguez
- Kara Rogers
- Marco Sampaolo
- Veenu Setia
- Gaurav Shukla
- Shiveta Singh
- Amy Tikkanen
- Grace Young
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add new Web site: University of Oxford - The Newton Project - NewtonÂs Life and Work at a Glance. | Sep 26, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: Heritage History - The Great Sir Isaac Newton 1642-1727. | Aug 01, 2026 | ||
| Anniversary information added. | Mar 27, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: ABC listen - The Science Show - Nearer the Gods: The enduring legacy of Isaac Newton. | Feb 06, 2026 | ||
| Anniversary information added. | Jan 01, 2026 | ||
| Revised media and updated British spellings. | Dec 23, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Online Library of Liberty - Sir Isaac Newton. | Dec 05, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: ABC listen - The Science Show - Life After Gravity - The story of Isaac Newton's decades in London. | Jul 11, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: BBC Sounds - Test Tubes and Tantrums - Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. | May 17, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Feb 11, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Virginia - Galileo and Einstein - Isaac Newton. | Feb 06, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Royal Society Publishing - Notes and Records - Newton's financial misadventures in the South Sea Bubble. | Nov 25, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: BBC - Teach - Isaac Newton: The man who discovered gravity. | Oct 28, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Isaac Newton Institute of Mathematical Sciences - Who was Isaac Newton? | Jul 23, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of British Columbia - Physics and Astronomy Department - The Life and Work of Newton. | May 28, 2024 | ||
| First paragraph modernization. | Apr 23, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - Isaac Newton. | Nov 15, 2023 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Oct 09, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: LiveScience - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Jul 03, 2023 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 21, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: OpenStax - College Physics 2e - Introduction to Dynamics: Newtonïżœs Laws of Motion. | Nov 30, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: MacTutor History of Mathematics - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Aug 23, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Famous Scientists - Isaac Newton. | Apr 05, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Space.com - Sir Isaac Newton: Quotes, facts & biography. | Apr 05, 2022 | ||
| Added an image of Newton's rings. | Dec 28, 2020 | ||
| Added cross-references throughout. | Oct 28, 2019 | ||
| Changed article title from "Sir Isaac Newton" to "Isaac Newton." | Aug 01, 2019 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Dec 18, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Easy Science for Kids - Sir Isaac Newton and Laws of Gravitation. | Dec 08, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Hyperphysics - Newton's Laws. | Dec 02, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Hyperphysics - Newton's Laws. | Dec 02, 2016 | ||
| Cross-reference removed. |
|
Aug 17, 2016 | |
| Replaced "the Earth" by "Earth" throughout. | Nov 20, 2015 | ||
| Bibliography revised and updated. | Nov 20, 2015 | ||
| Add new Web site: Trinity College Dublin - School of mathematics - Biography of Sir Isaac Newton. | Jun 27, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Wolfram Research - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Jun 27, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: ILoveIndia.com - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Apr 17, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: HyperHistory - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Apr 17, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Westminster Abbey - Biography of Sir Isaac Newton. | Apr 17, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Vigyan Prasar - Newton Isaac. | Apr 17, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Science Museum - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Apr 17, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: New Mexico Museum of Space History - Biography of Sir Isaac Newton. | Apr 17, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Lemelson-MIT - Biography of Sir Isaac Newton. | Apr 17, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: The University of Adelaide - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Apr 17, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Biography of Sir Isaac Newton. | Jan 29, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: DSO Kids - Glockenspiel. | Jan 11, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: British Broadcasting Corporation - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Jan 11, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Science Kids - Fun Science and Technology for Kids - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Mar 16, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cambridge Digital Library - Newton Papers. | Jan 10, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cambridge Digital Library - Newton Papers. | Jan 10, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cambridge Digital Library - Newton Papers. | Jan 10, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cambridge Digital Library - Newton Papers. | Jan 10, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cambridge Digital Library - Newton Papers. | Jan 10, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cambridge Digital Library - Newton Papers. | Jan 10, 2012 | ||
| Video about Sir Isaac Newton's formulation of the law of gravity added. | Sep 15, 2011 | ||
| Added portraits of Sir Isaac Newton from the Royal Astronomical Society and reproductions made after his death of earlier portraits. | Feb 11, 2011 | ||
| Added diagram of Newton's prism experiment. | Aug 16, 2010 | ||
| Added photograph. | Feb 12, 2010 | ||
| Added new Web site: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Sir Isaac Newton. | May 14, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - Biography of Isaac Newton. | May 14, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Isaac Newton. | May 14, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of Isaac Newton. | May 14, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Dept. Physics & Astronomy - Sir Isaac Newton and the Unification of Physics & Astronomy. | May 14, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Window To The Universe - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Apr 29, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Spectrum Biographies - Biography of Isaac Newton. | Feb 20, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: University of St Andrews - Biography of Sir Isaac Newton. | Jan 02, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive - Biography of Sir Isaac Newton. | Nov 19, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: British Broadcasting Corporation - Biography of Isaac Newton. |
|
Apr 26, 2007 | |
| Added new Web site: Think Quest - Biography of Sir Isaac Newton. | Aug 24, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: University of Tennessee - Astronomy 161: The Solar System. | Jun 30, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Isaac Newton. | May 30, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Wolfram Research - Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography - Biography of Isaac Newton. | May 10, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | May 29, 2002 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |