Cambridge

Trinity College

The vigorous intellectual life of Trinity was just what Isaac needed but Babington would have had to persuade him to sign the necessary oath to the Church of England to gain entry to the university, as Isaac was already finding fault with Christianity. Untold numbers of books were now available to him and he would read, avidly, the works of Archimedes, Aristotle, Plato, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Descartes. (The giants on whose shoulders he later claimed to have stood). He would learn how the Roman Catholic Church had persecuted Galileo for daring to state publicly that the earth was a satellite of the sun and not the centre of the universe as was Catholic dogma. Possibly because of this, he was ever afraid of England returning to Catholicism

A Welcome Friend

Coming from a puritanical background, he was critical of some student behaviour and one day walked out on the antics of his room-mate. Strolling alone in the college grounds he met a pensioner ( undergraduate) who was suffering in the same way. His name was John Wickins. He and Isaac decided to share rooms and they lived and worked together for the next twenty years.
Isaac, always an original thinker, read critically and became a follower of no doctrine but pursued an intense and unceasing search for the Truth. He could not have been much fun to share rooms with as he had no sense of humour, resulting in his being over sensitive to criticism. John Wickins must have been extremely tolerant, but it seems they found much in common.

The Scholar

In April 1664 Isaac was elected Scholar and this meant that he could stay on at Cambridge and study for his degree after which he could follow a line of research that would, hopefully, gain him recognition.
He was awarded his B.A. the following year and then started to formalise his system “Fluxions” (Differential Calculus).
According to him he was “in the prime of my age for invention and minded mathematics and philosophy more than any lime since”

The Plague

In July 1665 the Great Plague was killing Londoners in many thousands and week by week the number of deaths increased. Fearing it would spread to Cambridge, the university closed in August and Isaac returned home to Woolsthorpe.

Anni Mirabiles

Hannah must have realised by now that her son was a genius and in spite of having three teenagers in the house she was able to provide ideal conditions for his continuing research.
Under her loving care he laid the foundations for his masterpiece Principia (Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica). He also spent some time in Boothby Pagnall, at the home of his mentor, Babington. He mentions, in particular, work there on “Fluxions”
For almost two years he was able to devote himself to study without the distractions of university life and, as he later said, he was able to reach conclusions and solve problems by thinking on them continually.

The Apple

It was in the manor orchard, so he told his friend William Stukeley, that he saw an apple fall and his mind turned to why it should fall perpendicular to the ground and not at an angle. Further he wondered why the apple should fall towards the earth and yet the moon stay in orbit. Thus began his work on the Theory of Gravitation. He later worked out that the moon was beating gravity by speed but it is doubtful whether he realised that his musings in the garden would eventually lead to space travel.

Not Held by Sin!

In the 17th.Century, people believed that they were weighed down to the earth by sin and it was only by absolving their sins could they hope to enter Paradise. This was the time when John Bunyan was writing Pilgrim’s progress, which portrays Christian’s journey through life rejecting all pleasure in order to reach the Celestial City. When the Theory of Gravity was eventually published and people came to understand what really kept their feet on the ground, they must have felt greatly relieved.
However, the world was not to be informed of Newton’s findings yet, for he had no intention of crying ‘eureka’ and sending them to a scientific publication. He was wise enough to understand that he must have powerful men supporting him before his radical ideas could hope to be accepted.
The Spectrum
He had been studying Descartes’ Theory of Colours and decided to carry out some experiments with light. He made a hole in the window shutter in his room, allowing a beam of sunlight through to hit a prism that split the light into seven colours and projected them, in a spectrum, onto the wall opposite. He concluded that each colour travelled at a different velocity through the prism and from there he developed his own colour theory. But as usual, he kept his discoveries to
himself.

Astronomy

Forever watching stars, moon and planets and almost blinding himself with gazing at the sun, he worked out their movements with breathtaking accuracy. His findings have never been superseded.

Theology and Alchemy

After these valuable months at home, he returned to Cambridge and surprisingly spent more time studying theology and experimenting in alchemy than working on mathematics. He bought furnaces and equipment and built a laboratory against Trinity Chapel wall. His idea of gravitational attraction must have encouraged him to try to discover the consistency of such a power. It must be remembered that almost all his early reading was theology in his step-father’s library. Newton would know the books that Barnabas bequeathed him word for word, as he absorbed literature like a sponge. In the Clark’s household the subjects would be largely medical in which he was also interested.

The Arian

In his never ending search for the Truth his study of Christianity often took precedence over Philosophy. He read extensively and concluded that St Athanasius, in conjunction with Rome, had corrupted Christianity in the 4th Century and created Trinitarianism which he condemned as idolatrous. He also worked long hours with Wickins in his laboratory and it is said that he became remote from the lighter side of university life. He began to neglect his appearance and his health.

Lucasian Professor

Isaac Barrow, Master of Trinity and the first Lucasian Professor, fully appreciated Newton’s superior mathematical brilliance and so, in 1669, he nominated the younger man to succeed him to the chair.
Isaac rejected the doctrine of the Trinity and refused to be ordained. Nevertheless he was elected Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the age of twenty-six and now could speak with authority. One must conclude that Humphrey Babington, who was highly regarded by the Royal Stuarts, because of his support for their father Charles1, was influential in rules being waived on Isaac’s behalf.

A Man of Few Words

Newton was not an inspiring lecturer - being a man of few words- however, he was helpful to talented students and began to attract a following of admirers. What he really wanted though, was to be recognised by Europe’s top scientists.

The Reflecting Telescope

In studying the movements of the heavenly bodies he had found deficiencies in the refracting telescope which gave an unclear image due to chromatic aberrations. He had heard that James Gregory of Aberdeen had suggested that a reflecting telescope, using a concave mirror instead of a convex lens, might be the answer. Isaac was keen to explore this and set about the task with his usual enthusiasm.
First of all he had to make the necessary tools, as they were not readily available. He was already accomplished in woodwork, but continued with almost superhuman patience and skill, to grind and polish the lenses and reflectors. The resulting telescope was only six inches long but as powerful as a six feet long refracting one. He was sure that this beautifully crafted instrument was something that everyone could appreciate and it would gain him his longed for recognition.

The Royal Society

He tentatively mentioned to Henry Oldenburg, the secretary of the newly founded Royal Society, that he was experimenting with reflecting telescopes and had one almost complete. He was invited to send it for the members to inspect. When it was finally delivered in 1671 it caused a sensation and he was soon elected as a Fellow. Now he had “arrived” amongst Europe’s top philosophers and he could seek the support he needed.

Robert Hooke

Gaining in confidence, early the following year, he sent the Society his paper on colours. Robert Hooke, then the country’s most eminent scientist and who considered himself expert in the science of light, wrote a critique on Isaac’s paper. Criticism was something that Isaac could not stand - so began the disputes with top philosophers that continued throughout the rest of his life.
The man of few spoken words was uncompromising in the millions of words he wrote to Hooke, and various scientific publications. Also, later on, to the Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed, the brilliant German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz and many others. His letters to friends and family seem, largely pleasant and reasonable so it is his letters to fellow scientists that give the impression he was a difficult man to deal with. There is no doubt he was - but life is not easy for a man who is a genius.

Silent Years

For years his alchemic experiments continued. It is said that he was a typical absent-minded professor, with little social contact, often stopping to jot down ideas as they came into his head, and mostly eating alone.
However, it seems he kept in touch with his family. Spending on ‘my cousin Ayscough’ twelve - shillings and six pence and three shillings on ‘oranges for my sister’ Although travelling to Woolsthorpe from Cambridge took three days he made the uncomfortable journey most years and spent two or three weeks ‘in the country’ It is said he always found time to attend family weddings and gave very generously to the bride and bridegroom.

Hannah’s Death

In May 1679, Isaac’s half brother, Benjamin, now married and living in Stamford, contracted a virulent fever and Hannah rushed to his home to help nurse him. He recovered, but Hannah, unfortunately, succumbed.
Isaac reached her bedside with all possible haste and according to John Conduitt, (who later married into the family) he used all his energy and skill to ease her pain and aid her recovery - but he failed to save her life.
She had requested that her firstborn should arrange her funeral and he duly wrapped her in white woollen cloth and had her buried next to his father in Colsterworth churchyard.
Leaving behind his study and research, he spent almost a year in Woolsthorpe supervising the harvest and sorting out his mother’s affairs. There was always a powerful bond between Isaac and his mother and the only surviving snippet of a letter from her was full of concern and affection for him. Manor and farm being now his, he had to find a suitable tenant and agent.
Woolsthorpe had always been somewhere for him to come to ‘recharge his batteries’ and meet old friends and family. He had now lost this valuable ‘safe harbour’.

Wickens leaves

After twenty years of working together, John Wickens decided to swap the laboratory for the church, left Cambridge and married in 1683. It is not known whether he and Isaac kept in touch but the impression is that this valuable and close friendship had broken down.

He was replaced by Humphrey Newton, (no relation), from Grantham, who was his assistant for about five years and gave some interesting accounts to Stukeley. He told of several furnaces constantly burning in the laboratory and of Isaac sitting up all night waiting for results - often forgetting meals. Humphrey saw him smile only once!

Valuable Friends

As a member of The Royal Society, however, Isaac made some very valuable friends.
One of the first was Robert Boyle, the chemist and a founder member, who formulated a law governing the behaviour of gases. He helped Newton in his research.
Later he met the philosopher John Locke, known for his Essay concerning Human Understanding. He believed that humans absorbed knowledge through their various senses. He was a searcher after the Truth and a free thinker like Newton, but unlike Newton he was calm, thoughtful, and understanding. He, later, described Isaac as ‘the greatest and rarest genius that ever arose’.

Another friend was Samuel Pepys, who should have been good for Isaac in another way, as he was fonder of wine, women and song than anything else. Samuel admired clever people and perhaps he would persuade our puritan to visit the theatre! As an administrator for the navy he also had friends in court and that would impress an unsophisticated man, but Newton would have been shocked to read his diary!
Then there was the astronomer Edmund Halley, a constant and valuable friend who impoverished himself by publishing Principia Books 11 and 111 because he recognised how important they were. However, Newton didn’t appear to appreciate that he might not have been recognised in his lifetime without Edmund’s help.

Edmund Halley
In 1684, Halley approached him with questions about a comet that he had been studying and he was most surprised to find that Isaac knew a great deal about it and described in detail its elliptical orbit. An amazed Halley then persuaded him to finish his work on the Principia, containing the laws of motion and attraction. Two years later Book 1 was sent to the Royal Society at the time when Pepys was President, but it could not be immediately published because the Society was short of funds.

Gottfried Leibniz
Around this time the brilliant German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz published his important mathematical tool called Calculus. This caused Newton great distress as it was almost identical to Fluxions (only easier to use), which he constructed twenty years previously, but had not published. He accused Leibniz of plagiarism and accused John Collins, described as a scientific intermediary, of showing Leibniz his papers. Protracted and bitter arguments followed over many years and Leibniz died in 1716 still unforgiven.

Principia
(Mathematical Principles of Natural Science)

A massive work, the Principia worked everything out with rules and laws and consisted of :-

INERTIA:- Resistance to being moved.

MASS :- Amount of material in a body.

WEIGHT:- Force of Gravity acting on a mass

MOMENTUM:- The product of mass and velocity.

FORCE:- Any action on a body which changes its
state of rest or motion.

LAWS of MOTION :-

1. A body will remain at rest or will move with uniform velocity
in a straight line unless acted on by force.

2. The change of momentum of a body is proportional to
the force used.

3. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

**************************************

BOOK 1 :- LAWS of MECHANICS Movement of Planets.
Movement of the Moon.

BOOK 11 :- Movement of solids through liquids.

BOOK 111 :- Universal Gravitation and the Theory of Tides.

******************************
******************************

Fame at Last!
Principia Book 1 was published in l686 and caused a sensation, it was difficult to believe there was much more to come.
The three Books took Britain and Europe by storm.
Newton was the first man to state, in writing, that the world was an entity and not a division of heaven and earth. This was greeted enthusiastically by mathematicians, physicists and astronomers. Many poets celebrated him in verse. He was a national hero.
He changed the circumstance of mankind by showing how man could harness the forces of nature and make them work for his benefit. This led to the industrial revolution, which put Britain ahead of the world as an industrial nation.

Amongst the Greats

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, believed that everything in the universe was made up of earth, water, air and fire and that God moved the Sun and planets.

Galileo, the Italian astronomer, believed that objects everywhere had a tendency to move unless stopped. His research was stopped by the Inquisition.

Kepler, a German astronomer, wasted many years of research because he believed that the orbits of the planets were circular. . He came late to realise that they were ellipses; he was the first man to do so. He was a genius of the first order; unfortunately, he was persecuted rather than praised.
Descartes
The French philosopher Rene Descartes invented analytical geometry. He believed that everything was mechanical and set in motion by God. Famous for saying “Cogito ergo sum” (I think therefore I am).

Isaac Newton brought together the findings of these men and provided them with rules and laws. He was lucky to live in a country that allowed experimental and religious freedom., although he was always afraid that such freedom would not last.

King James 11

Publication of Principia brought Newton fame but it also created problems.
It was obligatory for a publisher to present a copy of such a manuscript to the king. The king was the devout catholic James 11 and the Roman Catholic Church, always suspicious of scientists, saw trouble ahead.
King James decided that the university must be kept under control. In 1687 a letter mandate arrived on the desk of the vice-chancellor, to admit Alban Francis, a Benedictine monk, to the degree of Master of Arts “without exercises and without oaths” (to the Church of England).

Danger!

The vice-chancellor, John Peachell, was frantic with worry. He wrote to Samuel Pepys, a royal advisor, for help and hurriedly called a meeting of top university men. They were determined to make a stand on the grounds that to admit Francis without the oath would be illegal.
The King summoned Peachell and representatives to appear before the Court of Ecclesiastical Commission. Isaac Newton and Humphrey Babington were among them and they had to plead before the notorious Judge George Jeffreys.
This was the Judge Jeffreys who was well known for having men executed at the drop of- a - hat and Newton and co. had to appear before him four times! Isaac knew that his religious views were not popular. He was, what we would call, a Unitarian. He always insisted he profoundly believed in God but he kept to himself what he really believed, it was safer to do so.

Again Saved by Babington

However, nobody could say he lacked courage, as, according to him, he said plenty in the university’s defence. One has the feeling that once again Humphrey Babington saved Isaac from persecution as the vice-chancellor had to take the rap. Father Francis was not admitted but poor John Peachell lost his job. Fortunately, the reign of James 11 was short!

Member of Parliament

On the strength of all this, Newton was invited to put his name forward as a parliamentary candidate. He was elected as an M.P. for Cambridge in 1689. It was his way of keeping the university in touch with government thinking and it lured him out of the laboratory and into London, which, like Samuel Johnson after him, he loved. He also had his first portrait painted by the leading artist of the day, Sir Godfrey Kneller.

An Exciting Friendship

Newton liked women, but never married. Perhaps a good thing, as he would have made an inconsiderate husband, being ‘married’ to his work. However, he did become involved in an emotional relationship with a man - although nobody has ever suggested that it was a physical one.
Sometime in 1689 and probably through the Royal Society, he met a brilliant, young, but unstable, Swiss mathematician called Nicholas Fatio de Duillier. It seems there was instant rapport and for about four years they worked closely together on various aspects of Newton’s work. This appears to be the only intense relationship he ever formed. Fatio was important to him.
He no longer needed Humphrey Newton.

Rejuvenation

The twenty-five year old Fatio rejuvenated him and he was spending more time in London. He began to lobby for a government appointment.

Devastation
Unfortunately the happy relationship with Fatio did not run as smoothly as he’d hoped. The younger man began spending long periods abroad, complaining that the English climate did not agree with him. Then in 1691 Isaac’s old friend and loyal supporter, Humphrey Babington died. Around the same time there came a desperate letter from his younger sister Hannah Barton, telling him that her husband, Robert, had died and that his long illness had left her and the children almost destitute.
The government was not coming forward with offers of exciting work for him and there is a story of a fire in his laboratory, which destroyed some valuable documents. Then the final blow came! Fatio wrote to say he was ill, was going to live on the family estate in Switzerland and would not be returning to England. Isaac plunged into a deep depression and suffered a minor nervous breakdown.

Rescued again!

During his years in Cambridge he had many brilliant students through his hands and one of them was made Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1695. He was Charles Montague and he quickly offered Isaac the position of Warden of the Mint. This was meant as a sinecure, but Isaac Newton aged fifty-four was not looking for any such thing.
He accepted the offer, left for London straight away and threw himself wholeheartedly into the job, thoroughly schooling himself in the history and operation of the mint. There is no record of depression from then on!
winclavering@ukpeople.com

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