Profile Major Works Resources

Sir Isaac Newton, 1624-1727.

Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton

Cambridge genius, mathematician and scientist. 

Sir Isaac Newton principal fame rests in his monumental Principia Mathematica (1687), wherein Newton famously introduced his three laws of motion and the concepts of mass, force and the principle of universal gravitation. In his Opticks (1704), Newton showed that white light was heterogeneously composed of more basic, primary rays, each with its own specific colour and index of refraction.  Independently of Gottfried Leibniz,  Newton was also the inventor of the mathematical calculus (defended by Voltaire and and much criticized by George Berkeley).

In 1696, Newton gained an appointment as Warden of the Royal Mint and, in 1700, was made Master.  The semi-senile Newton was responsible for the determination of the relationship between the values of gold and silver in the minting of coins. His undervaluation of silver led to the effective formation of the gold standard.  His understanding of inflation was rather simple-minded -- blaming it on clipping and forgery.  Newton spent much of his spare time coming up with novel ways of combating inflation, i.e. coming up with new gruesome ways to torture and execute counterfeiters and clippers.

 

  

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Major Works of Sir Isaac Newton

  • Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, 1687 [bk]
    • Latin editions: 1687 [bk] [Reprints: 1714 ed, 1739 ed, 1760, v.1, v.2], [cam, gut] [1871 ed, lib]
    • English trans:: 1729 (Motte) transl: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, v.1, v.2 [1803 ed, v.1, v.2, v.3]
    • French trans:  [French transl.1759]
  • Opticks, or a Treatise of Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light, 1704 [1718 2nd ed, 1721 3rd ed, 1730 4th ed] [French 1787 tras.]
  • Representations of Sir Isaac Newton on the Subject of Money, 1712-7. [McM]
  • Universal Arithmetick, or a treatise of arithmetical composition and resolution, 1720 [bk], [1769 ed]
  • The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended,  to which is prefix'd a short chronicle from the first memory of things in Europe, from the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, 1728 [bk] [1728 ed., Sir Isaac Newton's Chronology, abridged by himself  [bk]], [French 1728 trans [bk]]
  • Tables for renewing and purchasing of the leases of cathedral-churches and colleges, according to several rates of interest, with their construction and use explain'd, also tables for renewing and purchasing of lives, with tables for purchasing the leases of land or house according to several rates of interest, [1729 3rd ed; 1735 5th ed]
  • A Treatise on the System of the World (Trans. of Book III of Principia) 1728 [bk], [1731 2nd ed]
  • The Present State of Ireland, being Sir Isaac Newton's representation about the gold and silver coins, to the Right Hon. Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, 1729 [bk]
  • Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St John, 1733. v.1 ,v.2
  • De Methodis Serierum et Fluxionum, written c. 1671, pub. 1737 [English 1736 trans. Method of Fluxions and Infinite Series, with its application to the geometry of curve lines [bk] [French transl. 1740]
  • Opuscula Mathematica, Philosophica et Philologica (ed. Joh. Castilloneus), 1744, v.1, v.2
  • Correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Cotes, (ed. J. Edleston)1850 [bk]
  • [English trans. Sir Isaac Newton's Enumeration of Lines of the Third Order, Generation of Curves by Shadows, Organic Description of Curves, and Construction of Equations by Curves by C.R.M. Talbot, 1860 [bk]]

 
HET

 
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Resources on Sir Isaac Newton

  • Newton Papers website at Cambridge Digital Library
  • Sir Isaac Newton's Mathematick Philosophy more easily demonstrated, by William Whiston, 1716 [bk]
  • "Eloge de M. Newton" by M. de Fontenelle [repr. in 1763 Oeuvres, p.172] [English trans. 1728, An Account of the Life and Writings of Sir Isaac Newton, 2nd ed]
  • A View of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy, 1728, by Henry Pemberton [bk]
  • A Demonstration of Some of the Principal Sections of Sir Isaac Newton's Principles of Natural Philosophy by John Clarke, 1730 [bk]
  • An Abstract of Sir Isaac Newton's Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms, by Andrew Reid, 1732 [bk]
  • Lettres Philosophiques by Voltaire, 1734 [Engl 1738 trans. The Metaphysics of Sir Isaac Newton, or a comparison between the opinions of Sir Isaac Newton and Mr. Leibnitz [bk]]
  • A Vindication of Sir Isaac Newton's Principles of Fluxions, against the objections Contained in The Analyst by J. Walton, 1735 [bk] (vs. Berkeley)
  • Il Newtonianismo per la dame  by Francesco Algarotti, 1739 [bk] [English 1739 trans Isaac Newton's Philosophy explain'd for the use of the ladies, v.1, v.2]
  • Sir Isaac Newton's Two Treatises of the quadrature of curves and analysis by equations of an infinite number of terms, explained, by John Stewart, 1745 [bk]
  • An Easy and Pleasant Introduction to Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy by "Fellow of Royal Society" [with essay by John Ryland] [1772 ed]
  • An Account of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophical Discoveries, by Colin Maclaurin, 1748 [bk] [1750 2nd ed], 1775 [3rd ed]
  • Astronomy Explained upon Sir Isaac Newton's Principles, and made easy to those who have not studied mathematics by James Ferguson, 1756 [bk]
  • "Letters on Newton" by Voltaire, from Letters on The English, c. 1778. [ford]
  • "Vie de Sir Isaac Newton" by Jean-Baptiste Biot, Biographie Universelle [English 1829 trans ed]
  • Life of Sir Isaac Newton by Sir David Brewster, 1831 [1832 ed] [1875 ed]
  • An Address on the Genius and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton, by George Boole, 1835 [bk]
  • Historical Essay on the First Publication of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia by Stephen Peter Rigaud, 1838 [bk]
  • Correspondence of scientific men of the seventeenth century by S.P. Rigaud, Earl of Macclesfield, 1838 v.1, v.2
  • Life of Sir Isaac Newton by George Grant, 1849 [bk]
  • Memoirs of the Life, Writings and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton by David Brewster, 1855 v.1, v.2 [1860 2nd ed., v.1, v.2]
  • Analytical View of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia, by Henry Brougham and E.J. Routh, 1855 [bk]
  • A Biographical Sketch of Sir Isaac Newton by E.F. King [1858 2nd ed, with oration by Henry Brougham]
  • A Bibliography of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton, 1907 [bk]
  • The Portrait Medals of Sir Isaac Newton, 1912 [bk]
  • A Short Account of the History of Mathematics by W.W. Rouse Ball, 1908, incl. "Sir Isaac Newton" [tcd], and "Controversy between Leibniz and Newton over the discovery of the calculus" [tcd]
  • Appendix I of David Brewster's `Life of Sir Isaac Newton' 1835
  • Newton: the Man by R. de Villamil, 1931
  • Isaac Newton Resources website at Newton Institute, Cambridge
  • IsaacNewton.org.uk website, resources by Andrew McNab
  • The Sir Isaac Newton Home Page by James E. Force and Chase Krumpelman
  • Musgrave and Huggins Catalogues of Newton's Library
  • "On the shoulders of Giants'' at Newton.org.uk
  • "Extracts from Diary of Samuel Pepys" at Newton.org.uk
  • Newton page at Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical sciences
  • Newton page at MacTutor Mathematics Archive
  • Newton page at McMaster
  • Newton page at Online Library of Liberty, Liberty Fund
  • Newton page at Galileo project, Rice.
  • Intro to Astronomy page  at Univ. Tennessee
  • "Sir Isaac Newton" by Robert Hatch, Encyc Americana [ufl]
  • Newton entry at encyc.com
  • Newton entry and Newton's Principia entry at Stanford Enc of Philosophy
  • Newton entry at Britannica
  • Wikipedia

 

 
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