Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS (25 December 1642– 20 March 1726/27[a]) was an English
mathematician, physicist,astronomer,alchemist,theologian, and author (described in his
time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians
and physicists of all time and among the most influential scientists. He was a key figure in
the philosophical revolution known as the Enlightenment. His bookPhilosophiæ Naturalis
Principia Mathematica(Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in
1687, establishedclassical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics,
and shares credit with German mathematicianGottfried Wilhelm Leibnizfor developing
infinitesimal calculus.