Kay Barnham - Isaac Newton

The Renaissance was a time in history when learning once again became as importantas it had been in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. It happened between the 14th andthe 17th centuries in Europe.

A long time ago, people thought that Earthand not the Sun was at the center ofour universe. Now we know that only the Sun is at the center of our solar system.

Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day in 1642, near Grantham in Lincolnshire, England.He was born and was such a tiny baby that he was not expected to live.Against the odds, Isaac survived. Sadly, his fatherwho was a farmer, also namedIsaacdied three months before Isaac was born. Isaacs mother, Hannah, was now awidow with a new baby.

This is St. Wulframs Church in the town of Grantham, near where Isaac Newton wasborn.

When Isaac was a very young boy, his mother remarried. Hannahs new husband was achurch minister named Barnabas Smith. When Hannah went to live with Smith, she didnot take Isaac with her. Instead, she left him behind at the family home, where hisgrandmother raised him. Even though his mother returned home when her husband diedyears later, Isaac never forgave her for leaving him.

This is the hallway of Woolsthorpe Manor, where Isaac Newton grew up. He came froma family of wealthy farmers.

At the age of 12, Isaac was sent to a school that accepted students based on theirabilities. He was a smart boy, but his mother wanted him to become a farmer and runthe family farm. This was a bad idea for two reasons: Isaac did not know how to bea farmer, and he did not want to be a farmer. Luckily, his uncle stepped in. He persuadedHannah that Isaac should continue his education instead.

This is Isaacs school in Grantham, England. He was bullied there, but he decidedthat he would beat the bullies by getting better grades than them.

In 1661, Newton set off for Trinity College, at the University of Cambridge, in England.During his first three years in college, Newton worked as a waiter and a cleanerto pay for his studies. But he did so well that he was made a . This meantthat he would receive funding for the next four years. Newton gave up working sohe could spend his time studying.

Trinity College was founded by Englands King Henry VIII in 1546, over a centurybefore Isaac Newton went there to study.

Plague!

After four years, Newton graduated from Trinity College. But he wanted to learn evenmore! Then disaster struck. His studies were interrupted by something very deadlybubonic.

The disease had already swept across London, England, killing thousands of people.Now it had reached Cambridge. To stop the plague from spreading through Trinity College,it was closed down. Everyone was sent home.

Newton returned home to Woolsthorpe Manor while the plague raged through Cambridge.