Roger Cotes FRS (10 July 1682 – 5 June 1716) was an English mathematician, known for working closely with Isaac Newton by proofreading the second edition of his famous book, the Principia, before publication.

[2] Roger Cotes's contributions to modern computational methods lie heavily in the fields of astronomy and mathematics.

The first edition of Principia had only a few copies printed and was in need of revision to include Newton's works and principles of lunar and planetary theory.

[citation needed] The two spent nearly three and half years collaborating on the work, in which they fully deduce, from Newton's laws of motion, the theory of the moon, the equinoxes, and the orbits of comets.

[citation needed] Cotes's original contribution to the work was a preface which supported the scientific superiority of Newton's principles over the then popular vortex theory of gravity advocated by René Descartes.

Cotes concluded that the Newton's law of gravitation was confirmed by observation of celestial phenomena that were inconsistent with the vortex theory.

[9][10] After his death, many of Cotes's mathematical papers were edited by his cousin Robert Smith and published in a book, Harmonia mensurarum.

[9] Although Cotes's style was somewhat obscure, his systematic approach to integration and mathematical theory was highly regarded by his peers.