Newton, Isaac, * 24 Jan 1642 (Woolsthorpe), † 20 Mar 1727 (Kensington)

Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Fellow (1672) and later President (1703) of the Royal Society of London. Member of the Convention Parliament (1689). Warden (1696), then Master (1699) of the Royal Mint. Knighted by Queen Anne (1705). Since Newton's seminal achievements in science and mathematics are extremely well known, they will not be discussed in the present short entry, which concentrates exclusively…