Can You Tell Me Something About Isaac Newton?

Isaac Newton is a very famous British scientist who lived in the late 1600s. He was born on Christmas Day in 1642 and he grew up with a strong curiosity and interest in the world around him. On one occasion when he was a teenager, he stuck his finger in his eye to see what was between his eyeball and his skull!

Later, he restricted his curiosity to the planets and the Solar system and the physics of objects. He developed the theory of the force of gravity and explained why planets travel in circular orbits around the Sun. He also explained the refraction of light by lenses, he invented ways of making better lenses and he developed his own telescope. He used a prism to look at how white light could be split into the colours of the rainbow and he explained how rainbows were formed.

Away from science, Newton lead a full and useful life also; he was director of the Royal Mint and was a Member of Parliament.