Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton (1643 to 1727) was an English polymath whose work in mathematics, physics, astronomy and natural philosophy shaped modern science, and who is also counted among the inventors for his practical optical instruments. In technology his best known contribution is the reflecting telescope, which he built to avoid the colour fringes of lens-based designs, and which became the pattern for large astronomical instruments. His laws of motion and universal gravitation, set out in the Principia of 1687, supplied the mechanics on which later engineers built their calculations of forces, orbits and flow. He also described early ideas on cooling, the speed of sound and fluid resistance. Later in life he ran the Royal Mint, improving the accuracy and security of British coinage.