Astro2110 – The Solar System

1. Isaac Newton (B. December 25, 1642 D. March 20, 1727) was important because he was one of the first people to accurately describe mathematically how planetary motion works. He was able to begin to mathematically describe how gravity works and especially how it relates to mass on a massive planetary scale.
2. When Newton was at Trinity college, they had to close due to the Bubonic Plague. It killed a quarter of London’s population. The English Civil War was also occurring when he was born. They were between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians of England.
   1. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch microscopist that discovered bacteria and protozoa which helped create modern day bacteriology.
3. During the 1600’s the scientific revolution was well underway. Whether it is Spinoza making new philosophies, Newton or Galileo making breakthroughs in astronomy and physics, or Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek in biology. The foundations of what we use today were just being laid during this time period.

Isaac Newton: Isaac Newton was born in December 1642 and died in March 1727. Newton made important contributions to the study of astronomy. One of Newton’s first accomplishments was the invention of integral calculus, which was an important foundation of mathematics for his astronomical discoveries. Newton’s experiments with prisms and sunlight led to the discovery of the visible light spectrum. He is also credited with inventing the reflecting telescope. One of Newton’s most notable contributions to astronomy is his three Laws of Morion which outlite his theories about gravity. 

The English Civil War (1642-1651): The English Civil War was one major historical event during Newton’s lifetime. The war was a series of conflicts between the loyalists to parliament and loyalists to the King. The war led to the execution of King Charles I in 1649 and the establishment of the Commonwealth.

The Great Fire of London (1666): Another significant event during Newton’s lifetime was the Great Fire of London in 1666. The fire burned nearly the entire city of London. The reconstruction of London after the fire greatly impacted architecture and urban planning.

John Locke (1632-1704): John Locke is a highly regarded English physician and philosopher who made important contributions to the Enlightenment. Locke is well known for his theories about liberalism which had a lasting impact on government today.

Reflection: I enjoyed this assignment because it reminded me of the Enlightenment era. I tend to think of historical events and scientific inventions as purely independent of each other so this homework helped me challenge that. It was interesting to see how Newton’s lifetime overlapped with events like the English Civil War and the Great London Fire because it provided historical and cultural context for his contributions. Learning about Newton’s discoveries in the context of this period also put into perspective the influence that the Enlightenment had on modern times.

Isaac Newton was something truly special – I’ve heard many, in my opinion correctly, claim him to be the most intelligent human that has ever lived. From finding an infinite series to describe the precise digits of pi into infinity, to inventing calculus, to observing the laws of motion and beginning to crack the code of gravity, Isaac Newton contributed at least as much to the global progression of science as any other human who has ever lived. His genius was extraordinary, unprecedented, and likely will never be seen again on such a scale.

He was born on January 4th, 1643, and died on March 20th, 1727, at the age of 84. It was later discovered that there were traces of Mercury in Newton’s system at the time of his death, leading to speculation of mercury poisoning. He was buried, and still rests, at Westminster Abbey in London. I have seen this building, and of all the historical figures that I learned were buried there, I was most impressed by Newton!

During this man’s incredible life, many other crazy things were happening on earth at the same time…

The Thirty Years War ended in 1648. The Thirty Years War was extremely significant for many reasons. The conditions under which it ended changed the European political balance permanently. The influence of the Pope and the Church, politically, would be enormously diminished. The Holy Roman Empire, headed by King Phillip II, would never possess such political and military authority. The Thirty Years War represented the last truly religious war in Europe.

Louis XIV is crowned King of France! “The Sun King,” as he will be called, begins construction of his fantastic Palace of Versailles. Louis will become the textbook example of European Absolutism, which will take the continent by storm in the coming decades.

Johannes Vermeer, a famous Dutch Baroque painter, lived at the same time as Isaac Newton. He is famous for his scenes of indoor Dutch life, with his most famous painting being Girl With a Pearl Earring, something that I am quite confident we’ve all seen, even if we don’t attribute the work to Vermeer.

I suppose looking back into history like this, everything seems very dense. That’s because, presumably, we have had such a long time to discern what and who was important. Thus, it should come as no surprise that, throughout history, there is an enormous overlap between famous people, in different disciplines especially, who have lived at the same time. However, even knowing this, and applying the logic, it is still rather awe inspiring to think that the Thirty Years War, Louis XIV, Johannes Vermeer, and Isaac Newton himself were all occurring, on planet Earth and on the same continent even, at the same time. What a time to be alive! I wonder if others in the future will say the same thing about us right now… I find it hard to believe they will, but who knows.