Sir Isaac Newton is often called the father of modern physics. While most people associate him with the famous falling apple, his life was far more mysterious and intense than a simple garden observation. For instance, he spent more time writing about the occult and the Bible than he did about physics. Furthermore, he once moved into the Tower of London to wage a personal war against criminals. Prepare to uncover the hidden side of the man who decoded the universe.
Isaac Newton
He was born so small he could fit in a quart mug. Born prematurely on Christmas Day in 1642, his mother didn’t expect him to survive his first few hours. Consequently, he remained a weak and sickly child for many years, which contributed to his lifelong solitary nature.
The “apple hitting his head” story is mostly a myth. Newton did see an apple fall in his mother’s garden at Woolsthorpe Manor, which prompted him to wonder why it fell straight down. However, there is no evidence the fruit ever actually struck him on the head. Interestingly, the descendant of that original tree still grows in the same spot today.
Isaac Newton worked as an undercover detective to catch counterfeiters. When he became Warden of the Royal Mint, he didn’t just sit in an office. Specifically, he disguised himself and visited gritty taverns to recruit informants. Ultimately, he sent 28 counterfeiters to the gallows for “treason against the currency.”
He wrote over a million words on alchemy in secret. While he published Principia for the public, he spent decades trying to find the “Philosopher’s Stone.” He believed he could turn base metals into gold. Thus, historians often call him the “last of the magicians” rather than the first scientist of the Age of Reason.
He predicted the world would end in the year 2060. Based on a deep and cryptic study of the Bible’s Book of Daniel, he calculated that the current age would conclude no earlier than 1260 years after the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire. Therefore, he circled 2060 as a significant date for the “end of days.”
He once stuck a needle in his own eye socket for science. To study how the human eye perceives color and light, he inserted a “bodkin” (a long, thin needle) between his eye and the bone. He pressed it against the back of his eyeball to see what colors and shapes appeared. Thankfully, he didn’t go blind.
He suffered two major nervous breakdowns. The most famous episode occurred in 1693 when he went five nights without sleep. During this time, he sent letters to his friends, John Locke and Samuel Pepys, accusing them of conspiring against him. Remarkably, he recovered fully within 18 months.
He sat in Parliament for a year and only spoke once. Despite his brilliance, he was not a politician. During his entire term as a Member of Parliament for Cambridge University, his only recorded contribution was asking a servant to close a window because of a cold draft.
His mother originally tried to make him a farmer. After his stepfather died, his mother pulled him out of school to manage the family estate. However, Newton hated farming and would often hide under a tree to read books while the sheep wandered away. Eventually, his uncle convinced his mother to let him return to school.
He fought a lifelong war with another genius over calculus. For decades, he argued with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz about who invented the mathematics first. Although Newton likely discovered it earlier, Leibniz published his work first. Consequently, the two remained bitter enemies until death.
He was a master of the “Petty Misdeed.” In a private notebook of “sins,” he confessed to hitting his sister and wishing “death and hoping it” to his stepfather. He also felt guilty for “squirting water on Thy day” (Sunday) and making pies on a Sunday night.
Isaac Newton lived in the Tower of London. Because the Royal Mint was located inside the Tower, Newton spent much of his later life living in the fortress. From his windows, he could see the prisoners and the execution sites, which suited his stern and disciplined personality.
He helped establish the “Gold Standard” in Britain. As Master of the Mint, he issued a report in 1717 that fixed the value of gold relative to silver. This move essentially shifted the British currency system toward gold, a structure that influenced global economics for centuries.
Isaac Newton stayed single his entire life. Newton never married and, according to most historians, never had a romantic relationship. He focused entirely on his work, often forgetting to eat or sleep for days when he was in the middle of a mathematical breakthrough.
Finally, his dog allegedly burned 20 years of research. A popular legend says his dog, Diamond, knocked over a candle and set fire to his laboratory. While many historians doubt the dog existed, Newton did lose significant manuscripts in a fire, which sent him into a deep depression.
