The birthday of great scientist and mathematician Isaac Newton is on 4 January. Newton was a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, and much more. Newton is known only for his laws of gravity and motion, but many of his discoveries and inventions revolutionized the world. One of the lesser known stories about him is that he had two birth dates.
An interesting fact about Newton is that he had two birthdays. Actually the difference of ten days between his two birth dates was due to the calendar prevalent in his time. Apart from 4th January, Newton’s birthday also falls on 25th December. The interesting thing is that Newton also celebrated his birthday on 25th December in England whereas outside England his birthday was on 4th January. Newton was born at Woolsthorpe Manor House in England. At that time, the Julian calendar was used in England, which was different from Europe, according to which Newton was born on 25 December 1642. At that time the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Europe which is still used today. According to this, Newton was born on 4 January 1643. This date was later officially recognized as his date of birth.
The concept of gravity existed even before Newton’s theory. But Newton’s theories created a stir around the world by giving universality to gravity. But an even bigger change was a fundamental change in the whole of science. That is why it is believed that Newton started a new era in science. These were not Newton’s only two major inventions. Newton gave a new branch to mathematics by inventing calculus. Furthermore, Newton was the first person to build a reflecting telescope. He was the first to show the spectrum of colors in white light through a prism. Which is the foundation stone of modern astronomy.
Newton’s contributions included physics, astronomy, mathematics and calculus, mechanics, history, theology, and writing. But few people know that Newton had a keen interest in chemistry and even more so he found chemistry interesting. He wrote many articles on chemistry and also conducted many experiments on alchemy. Newton was a great writer. He wrote most of his articles not on science and mathematics but on history and theology. He has shown great interest in philosophy and chronology. Whereas in science, he remained associated with subjects like material mechanics and optics. Newton was never involved in electromagnetism. He invented calculus to prove that the planets revolve in elliptical orbits around the Sun.
Newton never married. He died in his sleep in London on 20 March 1727. It is said that after his death a large amount of mercury was found in his body. It has been interpreted in many ways. Some linked it to his experiments in alchemy and some to his alchemy business. But many believe that the Mercury conjunction reflects his eccentricity.