Isaac Newton in popular culture

Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, natural philosopher, theologian, alchemist and one of the most influential scientists in human history.

His Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica is considered to be one of the most influential books in the history of science, laying the groundwork for most of classical mechanics by describing universal gravitation and the three laws of motion.

Because of the resounding impact of his work, Newton became a science icon, as did Albert Einstein after publishing his theory of relativity more than 200 years later.

The following passage is from William Wordsworth's The Prelude, in which he describes a marble statue of Newton at Trinity College, Cambridge:[12] And from my pillow, looking forth by light Of moon or favouring stars, I could behold The antechapel where the statue stood Of Newton with his prism and silent face, The marble index of a mind for ever Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.

The celebration may have had its origin in a meeting of the Newton Association at Christmas 1890 to talk, distribute gifts, and share laughter and good cheer.

On 25 December 2014, American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted: On this day long ago, a child was born who, by age 30, would transform the world.