Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton was an English physicist and mathematician whose laws of motion and universal gravitation laid the foundation of classical mechanics.
Newton developed many of his most significant ideas during 1665-1666, when Cambridge University closed due to plague and he retreated to his family home, a period sometimes called his 'year of wonders.' There he began work on calculus, optics, and the theory of gravity.
His 1687 work, commonly known as the Principia, formalized the three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation, unifying the physics of falling objects on Earth with the motion of planets. He also made major contributions to optics, demonstrating that white light is composed of a spectrum of colors.
Newton served as President of the Royal Society and Master of the Royal Mint. His framework of mechanics remained the standard model of physics until Einstein's theory of relativity in the early 20th century.