Historical Astronomers in Context

I chose to learn more about Isaac Newton! He was born on December 25th, 1642 and died on March 31st, 1727.

Isaac Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation that helped explain the force that determines the motion of celestial bodies. Newton established the three laws of motion, the law of inertia, the law of acceleration, and the law of action and reaction, which are fundamental principles used in astronomy. Isaac Newton also invented calculus which is a powerful mathematical tool that can be used to analyze the motion of celestial bodies.

What was happening during Isaace Newton’s lifetime?

In 1666, The Great Fire of London took place during which a significant portion of the city of London was burned down, leading to improvements in urban planning.

The Salem Witch Trials occurred in 1692 until 1693 in colonial Massachusetts and it saw the execution of nineteen women accused of witchcraft and the death of six other innocent people during interrogation.

Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4th, 1678 and died on July 28th, 1741. He was one of the most influential composers that composed in the classical Baroque style, writing masterpieces such as “The Four Seasons” and “Gloria in D major” that fundamentally influenced the trajectory of classical Baroque music.

Here are some of my thoughts:

While Isaac Newton was establishing calculus and the fundamental laws of physics that still are foundational to almost every denomination of contemporary science and mathematics, women were being hanged for witchcraft in Massachusetts and the city of London was recovering from a devastating fire that today would have been stopped within minutes. These events in relation to the discoveries of Isaac Newton seem disjointed but I believe that this will always be the case when observing the past. We will never have a clear idea of what it must have been like to live as someone from the late 17th and early 18th centuries just as future generations will not be able to understand our current one as well as we do. It may also seem disjointed in our current world to have high speed internet and reusable rockets but still have the whole world shut down due to a virus. There will always be disparities between what we believe to be “current’ or “of the past” or “of the future”.