Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton (1642–1727) is widely regarded as the most influential scientist in human history. His Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687) — the Principia — unified terrestrial and celestial mechanics under a single set of mathematical laws, completing the Scientific Revolution and establishing the framework for physics that endured unchallenged until Einstein.

Newton's three laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation demonstrated that the same force that makes an apple fall to the ground governs the orbits of planets around the sun. This unification was breathtaking in its simplicity and power: the entire mechanical universe could be described by a handful of equations. He also made foundational contributions to optics (demonstrating that white light is composed of a spectrum of colors) and independently invented calculus (simultaneously with Leibniz).

Newton's impact extended far beyond physics. His success in explaining the natural world through mathematical laws inspired Enlightenment thinkers to seek similar laws governing human society, politics, and economics. The Newtonian worldview — a universe governed by discoverable, mathematical laws operating with clockwork precision — became the intellectual foundation of the modern age. Alexander Pope captured the sentiment: 'Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night: / God said, Let Newton be! and all was light.'