Bedtime Biography: Isaac Newton summary

Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day, 1642. His birthplace was a modest English farmstead in Woolsthorpe, a tiny village in the county of Lincolnshire. Newton's father, a man who’d never learned to read or write, died before he was born. This left his mother, Hannah Ayscough, to care for her newborn son alone. 

As a child, Newton had a fantastically curious mind. He was fascinated by everything around him, from the functioning of gadgets to the mysteries of the natural world. He was especially interested in the movements of the sun. He was transfixed by the glowing sphere as it moved across the sky every day.

In 1664, England was struck by an outbreak of the dreaded bubonic plague. The pandemic was so severe that Cambridge University was forced to close its doors. Most students retreated to their homes, happy to stay healthy and spend a few months taking a break from their books. Newton, however, was different. He saw this quarantine as an opportunity to delve deeper into his studies.

When Newton returned home, he set about his research with a renewed fervor. Sequestered away in his room, he began experimenting. His first focus was optics, light, and color. He tinkered with candles, mirrors, and prisms, attempting to uncover the fundamental logic behind light. His curiosity knew no bounds. In one especially dangerous experiment, he trained his looking glass on the sun, staring at the burning sphere until his eyes hurt.

Newton’s first book was still warm from the presses when he began preparing the next updated edition. He desired to make the work more accessible so that the whole world could benefit from his ideas.

While working on this new, improved edition of the Principia, Newton got his biggest break yet. In 1703, his great rival Robert Hooke died. After a brief reshuffling of roles, Newton was elected as the new head of the Royal Society. He took to the position with particular aplomb, pushing his fellow scientists to abandon research into mysticism and the occult and focus more thoroughly on empirical pursuits. 

You’ve reached the end of this Bedtime Biography. Thank you for listening. Why not pause listening now so you can stay in a relaxed state? And if you’re off to bed now, I wish you a good night’s sleep.