1687Reputable sourceWell documented
Newton's Laws and Universal Gravitation
On the timeline · around 1687 ·
What happened
In his Principia Mathematica (1687), Isaac Newton set out three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation, showing that the same force that makes an apple fall also holds the Moon and planets in their orbits. Using the calculus he had invented, he unified terrestrial and celestial mechanics into a single system.
Why it matters
Newton's physics was the crowning achievement of the scientific revolution and governed science for over two centuries. It made the universe seem a vast, predictable machine running on discoverable laws.
Sources
Related timelines
- History of Mathematics → — Newton's calculus and mathematical physics