San Marino · 300th anniversary of the death of Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton shaped the scientific thinking of Europe at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. In his work *Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica*, published in 1687, he formulated the three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation. In doing so, he described both processes on Earth and the movements of celestial bodies using a unified mathematical approach. The theory of gravitation explained, among other things, the orbits of planets and established a connection between astronomy and physics.

Newton also devoted himself intensively to optics. He investigated the composition of white light and showed that it could be split into different colours. To reduce the colour fringes occurring in telescopes, he developed a reflecting telescope. In mathematics, too, he worked on methods that contributed to the development of differential and integral calculus. These achievements arose partly at the same time as work by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz; the followers of the two scholars later became involved in a long-lasting dispute over priority.

Alongside his research, Newton undertook public duties. He worked for the English mint administration and was involved in combating counterfeiting. He also headed the Royal Society, a scientific society in London. His influence thus extended beyond academic research and connected scientific, governmental and institutional spheres.

The commemoration of the anniversary of his death is linked to the development of modern natural sciences. Newton’s writings were read in Europe for a long time as the foundation of classical mechanics and of the mathematically described order of nature. The anniversary therefore provides an occasion to remember a person whose work permanently linked physics, astronomy and mathematics and helped shape the scientific language of the following age.