William Atkins
Monday, 18 January 2010 20:25
Science -
Biology
Page 1 of 3
The memoirs of William Stukeley’s firsthand, handwritten account of the apple falling on Sir Isaac Newton’s head is now available on the Web. Gravity rules! Or, an apple a day doesn't keep gravity away!
William Stukeley (1687-1765) was an eighteen-century English author and physician. He is considered one of the founders of the scientific field of archaeology, having investigated such stone-circle sites as Stonehenge and Avebury.
Stukeley was also one of the first biographers of Sir Isaac Newton.
The
Royal Society has published the memoirs of Stukeley concerning the event that
‘supposedly’ led to Newton to think about how gravity works on Earth (and everywhere in the Universe) and, eventually, came to provide him with sufficient inspiration to write his theory of gravity.
The Royal Society goes formally by the much longer name of Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge. It was founded on July 15, 1662 by the Royal Society of London.
The memoirs authored by English author
William Stukeley are entitled
“Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s Life.”
According to the Guardian.co.uk article "
Isaac Newton's falling apple tale drops into the web" the following is an excerpt of the Stukeley memoirs that were published in 1752:
"After dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden and drank tea, under the shade of some apple trees. He told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind. It was occasion'd by the fall of an apple, as he sat in contemplative mood. Why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground, thought he to himself."
The story of an apple falling on Newton's head is up for debate as to its authenticity. But, most scientific historians have the following response to the story. See page two.
