Cambridge genius, mathematician and physicist. In his Principia Mathematica (1687), Newton introduced his three laws of motion and the concepts of mass, force and the Principle of Universal Gravitation. In his Opticks (1704) he showed that white light was heterogeneously composed of more basic, primary rays, each with its own specific colour and index of refraction. Independently of Gottfried Leibniz, Newton was also the inventor of the calculus.
In 1696, Newton gained an appointment as Warden of the Royal Mint and, in 1700, was made Master. The semi-senile Newton was responsible for the determination of the relationship between the values of gold and silver in the minting of coins. His undervaluation of silver led to the effective formation of the gold standard. His understanding of inflation was rather simple-minded -- blaming it on clipping and forgery. Newton spent much of his spare time coming up with novel ways of combating inflation, i.e. coming up with new gruesome ways to torture and execute counterfeiters and clippers.
Major Works of Sir Isaac Newton
Resources on Sir Isaac Newton