Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was the son of a freehold farmer in Lincolnshire, England. He studied at Cambridge, and later became a fellow at Trinity College. In 1669 he earned the coveted position odf Lucasian professor, which had been held by Isaac Barrow before him. In 1696 he became the warden (and later the master) of the national mint. He was knighted by the Queen in 1705. His masterpiece was Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, which explained everything from universal graviatation to how to be a hit at parties.
(Struik 1987 106).