Meet the Motion Theorist – Sir Isaac Newton. Learn more about the greatest scientist that ever lived and how despite all odds, he single-handedly contributed to laying the groundwork for modern day science.

Born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1643, Sir Isaac Newton came into this world with a few strikes against him. He was born a preemie, his dad died before he was born, and he rarely saw his mom as she had remarried, forcing Isaac to live with his grandma. But nothing seemed to stop him. When he turned 17, Sir Ike, as we like to call him, was sent to his family’s farm to learn the family business. Let’s just say farming was not his thing. He was more the bookish type. So he took up academics and entered Trinity College in Cambridge.

Soon Sir Ike discovered the love of his life – mathematics. His passion led him to discover the work of his heroes, Galileo, Copernicus, and Keplar. Based on their ideas, he started to fashion his own. So much so that he once said, “If I have seen further than other men, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants.”

In 1687, he published Principia, which included his Universal Law of Gravity and his Three Laws of Motion. Now he was unstoppable. He invented high powered telescopes, created the theories of light and color, studied the speed of sound, developed calculus, became Master of the London Mint, knighted by Queen Anne, and on and on.

Eventually Sir Ike grew ill and died in his sleep in 1727. But his legacy helped send men to the moon, rovers to Mars, and even helped build better half-pipes. It’s no surprise that Sir Ike is often considered to be one of the most influential people in human history.

So thank you, Sir “scientist, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, alchemist, and physicist” Ike. You continue to touch all our daily lives, and we’re all better for it.