On 20 March 1727 Isaac Newton died. What was the contribution to knowledge made by the man who was born on the same day that Galileo died, and who laid the foundations for the development of the ensuing 200 years of physics?
In the past two decades a Newton industry has sprung up - 30 or so scholars working their way through parts of the 50 million words Isaac Newton wrote on topics such as optics and mathematics, theology and shipbuilding, chemistry and alchemy.
John Maddox discusses the picture of the man that is emerging from these new researches. Editor DAVID PATERSON followed by an interlude