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.