Newton's Later Years and Conclusion

In 1684, Edmund Halley, Robert Hooke, and Christopher Wren all were pondering a solution to the problem of planetary motion, but to no avail. Halley visited Newton in Cambridge that year. His motive for the visit was to answer the question: "What type of path does a planet make in its orbit around the sun if you assume that the inverse square law holds true?" Without hesitation, Newton answered, “an ellipse.” Halley was surprised that Newton already had the answer to the problem that the three other men had been pondering for so long. Halley asked Newton how he knew. Isaac replied saying that he had already calculated it.

 Newton had just answered one of the most difficult riddles of the universe before everyone else, but he lost the paper containing the calculations. He alone possessed the ability to derive such a calculation and Halley knew this. After talking for awhile, Newton agreed to repeat the calculation and show it to Halley. During the fulfillment of his agreement, Newton produced his work entitled, “De Motu,” in 1684.

This book led to what may be the most important book anyone ever wrote about science and physics, Newton’s “Principia.” Newton used the “De Motu” as a stepping stone to create what is widely considered his greatest publication. The “Principia” was funded by Edmund Halley. The book was very well received; although, it was cast into doubt by none other than Robert Hooke starting the controversy. Hooke claimed that he played a large role in Newton’s discovery of the theories contained in his book. This time, Hooke actually had some justification, being that he wrote Newton letters (as previously mentioned) in 1679 and 1680 containing his ideas and also his theory that the inverse square law was somehow involved. Newton was absolutely furious that Hooke would dare try to steal the spotlight for the work that he created. Isaac Newton actually threatened not to publish Book III of the “Principia.” He even denounced the name of science stating that is “an impertinently litigious lady.” After finally starting to calm down, Newton gave his consent to finishing his publication. However, instead of mentioning hook or giving Hooke any kind of acknowledgement, he completely omitted every possible mention of his name. Newton’s hatred for Robert Hooke had consumed him. Newton later withheld the publication of "Opticks," waiting until after Hooke’s death in 1703.

“Principia” was a wild success, Newton finally got the recognition he deserved from his peers, well most of them that is. Isaac Newton became more involved in public affairs. In 1689, he was chosen to represent Cambridge in the Parliament. However, in 1693, he had a serious mental and emotional breakdown. This was similar to the instance in 1677 and 1678. No one knows the actual cause, but many think it could relate to overwork, stress, the fact that his work undertook a lot of criticism, or even mercury poisoning from the extended period of time that Newton undertook studying alchemy. Newton recovered from his mental state and found a new position in London. He became the Warden and eventually the Master of the Mint. He left Cambridge for an extended period of time to go to London.

Robert Hooke was reluctant to give up his title as head of the Royal Society, especially because he knew that if he did, the new head would be Newton. After Hooke’s death in 1703, Newton took the position of President immediately after Hooke’s death and published his book entitled, “Opticks.” A dead man can’t criticize his work after all. All of his work in this book was completed what is estimated to be a decade before its publication. He was obviously eternally bitter toward Hooke. After this, Isaac Newton was knighted by Queen Anne on April 16 1705.

Newton’s time as President was considered to be tyrannical. He used the Royal Society to his own personal affect. One case stands out in particular. Leibniz declared that he was the true inventor of calculus since he was the first to publish a work on the topic. The quarrel was taken to the Royal Society, of which Newton had full control. The result was a biased ruling in favor of Newton. The actions of the Royal Society acted on behalf of Newton. At the time, Newton was accredited with the founding of calculus. However, now they are both considered co-founders, having developed the ideas independently. As previously stated, Newton had founded calculus during his time at home during the plague, almost 20 years before Leibniz. Therefore, one could make the argument that Newton was the original inventor. Leibniz merely gets credit due to the fact that he published works on calculus before Newton.

Newton remained dominant in the fields of math and science until his death on March 31, 1727. He also remained the President of the Royal Society until his death. Isaac Newton is still considered one of the most intelligent people who have ever lived. He also made huge discoveries during his studies that made a major effect in math and science that were unprecedented at the time. His greatest discoveries are usually said to be that of infinitesimal calculus, series dealing with calculus (power series), physics, and of course gravity and planetary motion. Isaac Newton would be compared to no other mathematician or scientist until Albert Einstein. Newton is still widely considered to be one of the greatest scientists, mathematicians, and influential people of all time.