Isaac Newton Trivia Questions

Newton saw an apple fall, inspiring his thoughts on gravity, but no apple struck him. The hitting-the-head detail was added later by writers like Voltaire.

This is a popular myth. Newton said observing a falling apple inspired his thoughts on gravity, but there's no evidence it struck him.

Newton actually explained how rainbows form through refraction, showing white light splits into colors—he celebrated rainbows rather than disproving them.

Newton wrote extensively on alchemy, performing secret experiments. He sought the philosopher's stone, though his methods were more systematic than medieval alchemists.

Newton was notoriously combative and reclusive, feuding bitterly with Robert Hooke, John Flamsteed, and Gottfried Leibniz over credit for calculus.

Newton was born so small and weak that his mother reportedly said he could fit inside a quart pot. He defied expectations to live into his 80s.

Newton wrote over a million words on theology and biblical prophecy, far more than his scientific works, though his unorthodox views were kept private.

During the 1665–66 Great Plague, Newton, then in his early 20s, developed calculus, the laws of motion, and gravity—his 'annus mirabilis'—at home.

Newton wrote over a million words on alchemy and theology, trying to decode the Bible's hidden messages. He saw science as uncovering God's laws.

As Warden of the Mint, Newton took his role seriously, interrogating criminals and sending them to the gallows. He was a relentless investigator.

Newton was knighted in 1705, but for political and monetary service, not relativity (which came 200 years later). He became Sir Isaac.

To study how the eye perceives color and pressure, Newton slid a bodkin (a blunt needle) between his eye and skull, recording the effects.

This story appears in many biographies, but no contemporary evidence exists. It was likely invented by a later writer to humanize him.

Queen Anne knighted Newton in 1705, making him Sir Isaac Newton, primarily for his political work as Master of the Mint, not solely for science.

As a representative of Cambridge University in Parliament, Newton's sole recorded contribution was requesting a drafty window be shut. He otherwise remained silent.

As MP for Cambridge University (1689–90, 1701–2), Newton reportedly only spoke once—to ask a clerk to close a window—according to historical accounts.