-
Isaac Newton is born
Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, England (Anderson 8). He was born on Christmas day from his parents Isaac and Hannah Newton. His father was a yeoman, or prosperous farmer, who worked in the manor and Hannah took care of the household. Newton's father, however, died three months earlier in October due to a bad illness. Isaac was born prematurely and stayed very small and frail. He wore a collar to support his neck and was originally thought to die (Christianson 10). -
Cape Town, South Africa is founded by the Dutch
Cape Town was first founded by the Dutch to serve as a refreshment station for traveling sailors heading to Asia. It's unique and central location soon made it become a busy stop for traders and travelers going all over the world. As a result, this stop was continually developed and expanded to the point where it became a major port city. This eventually led to it becoming the capital of South Africa and an important international business center today ("The Dutch Settlement"). -
Rhode Island declares slavery illegal
Rhode Island became the first of the thirteen colonies to pass a law that declared slavery illegal. Prior to the passing of the law, Rhode Island had the highest slave population of the New England colonies. Although this law was not heavily enforced, it became the first step in finally abolishing slavery in the US. It led to other northern states banning slavery and the prohibition of transporting slaves. As a result, the slaves were eventually freed and they slowly gained more rights (Taylor). -
Isaac Newton goes to King's School in Grantham, England
Isaac was sent to this school because his mother did not want him to be illiterate, like his father. During his time at this school, Isaac learned to read and write in both Latin and Greek. His first education began here and he became fascinated in the new things he had learned. It is here that he was first introduced to mathematics and science, which became the foundation for his focus of study later on in his life (Christianson 12-13). -
Isaac Newton enters Trinity College in Cambridge, England
Newton attended Trinity College after he had finished up at King's School and was ready to pursue a new level of education. During this time, he was taught the philosophy and knowledge of Aristotle and Plato (Christianson 22). He also learned about Kepler's and Galileo's laws of planetary motion. It is here that he gained most of his knowledge in mathematics and science to later on formulate his own laws of physics and planetary motions (Christianson 24-25). -
Isaac Newton invents calculus
Newton invented calculus while doing a private study at home, since his college was closed ("Isaac Newton Biography"). He was studying the mathematics of motion and found it inefficient to do his problems with algebra. So, he looked for a new way of solving his problems and invented calculus. He used it to solve his questions on planetary motions and almost everything in physics. He eventually used it to form his laws of motion and gravitation, which are still being used today (Anderson 34-35). -
Isaac Newton invents the reflecting telescope
While most telescopes at this time only had a single lens, Newton's reflecting telescope was larger than those were and it used two separate parabolic mirrors instead. It was capable of dispersing color in a way that it would magnify an object up to 40 times. This helped to later prove his theory of light and color that says color is a result of objects interacting with colored light. This became the basis for future telescopes that reflected light to form an image ("Isaac Newton Biography"). -
Pennsylvania is founded by William Penn
King Charles II granted Penn, a Quaker, a land charter to repay a debt that he owed to Penn's father. Penn decided to call this land, Pennsylvania, after himself. Penn made his cousin the governor and allowed him to take control. The two drew up a government in Pennsylvania and set Philadelphia as the capital, making it one the original thirteen colonies. This aided in the colonization of the western hemisphere and led to formation of one of our fifty states (Taylor). -
Isaac Newton publishes "Principia"
"Principia" was Newton's most influential book that contained everything he discovered about physics. It was said to be the most accurate account of science and physics that was ever recorded. The book contains his famous three laws of motion and how they are applied to life ("Isaac Newton Biography"). He used these laws to describe motions of planetary objects in space. This became the basis for the work of other physicists later on and his discoveries are still being used today (Anderson 74). -
Kingston, Jamaica is founded
The English founded Kingston, Jamaica after an earthquake destroyed their main coastal town at Port Royal. Before the earthquake, Kingston was used for farming, but now it served as a place for refugees and survivors. As more people came into the city, it was expanded and many more buildings were built. The British decided to turn it into a port and now many people came for various reasons. This eventually led to it becoming the largest city and capital of Jamaica (Grun 317). -
William Dampier sails to Australia from Britain
William Dampier sailed on The Roebuckto to go on an eight month journey to Australia. He was to explore the eastern coast of New Holland and also collect new specimens of plants. Dampier's voyage helped the British to map the land and identify an area called Botany Bay. This became a new British colony and led to the founding of modern-day Australia. The specimens he collected became the first known record of plant life there and helped naturalists to identify new species ("Timeline: 1600's"). -
Yale University is founded
Yale University is a private college located in New Haven, Connecticut and it is the third oldest institution in the United States. Yale has been open and educating students ever since it first opened. It has become very prestigious college, being one of the most sought after schools for the most elite students in the US. Today, many well educated students have come from this school and become very successful people such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc (Grun 321). -
Isaac Newton is elected president of The Royal Society
The Royal Society is a gathering where many scientists would share their discoveries and explain the new research they've conducted (Anderson 91). After Robert Hooke's death, the group decided to elect Newton as their new president. As president, Newton was able to gather much more information from his fellow scientists and use it to aid his own research. He was also able to better share his own discoveries and present his work, such as the reflecting telescope ("Isaac Newton Biography"). -
Isaac Newton publishes "Opticks"
"Opticks" was Newton's second major book on physical science that explained all the discoveries he made with light and color. It explained many concepts such as how white light is made up of the colors of the rainbow and how the reflecting telescope works. Much of knowledge we know today about light and color comes directly from this book. It set the foundation for modern day optics and helped in the creation of new optical devices (Christianson 124-125). -
Isaac Newton knighted by Queen Anne of England
Queen Anne knighted Newton in order to honor his scientific achievements while she was on a royal visit Trinity College. Newton now became Sir Isaac Newton and was able to assume political power and influence in the government. As a result, he could better pursue his research and conduct his studies, having given considerable recognition over the country ("Isaac Newton Biography"). -
Isaac Newton dies
Isaac Newton never got married or had many friends so he spent his final years living with his niece's family. As he aged, his body slowly wore out and his brain suffered from mental instability. He experienced digestion problems and had very limited mobility. The day before his death, he had severe chest pains, blacked out, and never regained consciousness ("Isaac Newton Biography"). He died in Kensington, England at the age of 84 (Christianson 144).
