OK, Newton didn't know about Harry Potter, but you know what I mean. Think the Philosopher's Stone is just Harry Potter lore? Newton didn't. In his year as a member of parliament, he spoke up only once - and that was to tell someone to close a window. He was a genius, to be sure, but not much of a politician.

In fact, he believed that God had chosen him specifically to interpret the Bible - and concluded that the world would end no sooner than 2060. 'This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be,' he explained, 'but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail.' 7. 6.Worried about the supposed apocalypse in 2012? Never fear: Newton spent a lot of time studying the subject. When the Gregorian calendar was finally adopted by England, it needed adjusted by 11 days, making January 4 Isaac's recognized birthday. Records indicate that Isaac was born on Christmas and baptized on New Year's Day. At the time of his birth, the Gregorian calendar hadn't been adopted by England yet (it took them until 1752, and Newton was born in 1643). Despite being born on January 4, he was born on Christmas Day. Other people who habitually tripped over their tongues included Aristotle, Moses, Winston Churchill and Charles Darwin. He was a stutterer, but it puts him in good company. Even then, some Newton scholars think the story involving the apple was entirely made up. The real story according to the man himself is that Newton was merely looking out the window when he happened to see the fruit drop. Newton was sitting under a tree contemplating life when an apple struck him on the head, simultaneously making a light bulb about gravity go off. That apple thing? Never happened.Īt least, not the way the legend goes. His mother said he could fit in a quart-sized cup upon birth. He was born quite premature: an estimated 11 to 15 weeks early. He wasn't expected to survive as a child. The three-year-old Isaac was sent to live with his grandmother. When Smith proposed to Isaac's mother, Isaac wasn't part of the deal.

One of them included, 'Threatening my father and mother Smith to burne them and the house over them.' You can't hardly blame the guy, though. Newton was an avid list maker and one of his preserved lists included all of the sins he felt he had committed up until the age of 19 (his age at the time).

Fun facts about isaac newton