Issac Newton
Early Life
Issac Newton was born in England on Christmas day in
1642. When he was born, he was very premature and
wasn't expected to live. He was left behind when he
was three years old in Woolsthrope, Liconshire with his
grandmother while his mother went to live with her wealthy
new husband. His grandmother sent him to Grammar
school when he was 9 years old and he was supposed to take
over the farm duties when he returned at the age of 17,
but it didn't work out. His farming skills weren't
very good and they considered him a "total failure as a
farmer." So, he attended college at Trinity college
in Cambridge and paid his first three years of college by
waiting tables and cleaning rooms for the faculty and
wealthy students. After this he was elected a
scholar in 1664, which guaranteed four years of financial
support. He earned his bachelor's degree at
Cambridge without honors or distinction. He had to
return to Woolsthrope in the middle of the year because
the school shut down for the next two years because of the
plague. During this time he made some of his
contributions to science. In 1667 he returned to
Cambridge while in the next year received his Master of
Arts degree.
In 1678, Newton suffered a serious emotional breakdown
after some lost arguments with Robert Hooke. The
following year Newton's mother died as well.
After all these lows in his life, things started to look
up. He started to become very successful with his
work and after Hooke died in 1703, he was elected
president of the Royal Society and maintained this
position until he passed away. Newton died on March
20, 1727.