(1642–1727)
an English scientist. He is well known for discovering Newton’s Laws , which explained the relationships between force, mass and movement. Many people know the story that he discovered the idea of gravity (= the force that attracts things towards the centre of the planet) when he saw an apple fall from a tree in his garden. He also discovered differential calculus, a branch of mathematics, at the same time as Leibniz discovered it in Germany, and made important discoveries about the nature of light and colour. He was made a knight in 1705.