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Isaac Newton

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Scientist

The Resume

    (January 4, 1643-March 31, 1727)
    Published the Universal Theory of Gravity (1687)
    Master of the Mint (1699)
    Published 'Opticks' (1704)
    Knighted (1705)
    Discovered the laws of motion

Why he might be annoying:

    He suffered from anxiety.
    He was a vegetarian.
    At nineteen, he wrote that he had threatened to burn his mother and stepfather, and their house down.
    He was an idle and inattentive student.
    His mother achieved some wealth and took him out of school to manage her estate.
    He did not have a talent for that either.
    His uncle tutored him and sent him to Cambridge University where he did not show any real talent until the last years of his studies.
    He did desire fame but feared criticism, so he did not wish to publish his papers.
    When he published his first paper about light being made up of particles and not waves, he was criticized by Robert Hooke (Newton's particle theory stood until the 19th century).
    He attempted to humiliate Hooke, and even when they made peace, he did not publish full account on optics until after Hooke died in 1703 (1704).
    He suffered a nervous breakdown after a heated exchange of letters with a jesuit who disagreed with his theory of color (1678).
    His assistant, Whiston wrote 'Newton was of the most fearful, cautious and suspicious temper that I ever knew.'
    He was involved in a heated debate with Leibniz as to which of them invented calculus.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was left handed.
    His father died three months prior to his birth.
    His mother and stepfather gave him to his grandparents when he was two.
    Despite being a law student in his final two year at Cambridge, he began studying philosophy and science.
    King James, a Roman Catholic (converted from Protestantism) was trying to replace all Protestants with Roman Catholics.
    Newton, a Protestant, stood up to King James and so when William of Orange invaded England and King James fled (1689).
    Newton became a hero in Cambridge and was sent to parliament.
    He became master of the mint which up until then was a ceremonial job with a nice paycheck, however he took the position seriously.
    He implemented many safeguards to protect money from being counterfeited and also issued guidelines for the new coinage.

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 290 Votes: 22.76% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 103 Votes: 40.78% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 138 Votes: 44.93% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 58 Votes: 46.55% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 285 Votes: 48.07% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 893 Votes: 49.72% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 858 Votes: 51.28% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 603 Votes: 56.38% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 72 Votes: 54.17% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 90 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 48 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 241 Votes: 51.87% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 115 Votes: 47.83% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 152 Votes: 53.95% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 127 Votes: 37.80% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 98 Votes: 33.67% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 260 Votes: 43.46% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 279 Votes: 39.78% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 918 Votes: 40.96% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 549 Votes: 42.08% Annoying
    In 2003, Out of 900 Votes: 42.78% Annoying
    In 2002, Out of 2086 Votes: 36.63% Annoying
    In 2001, Out of 9863 Votes: 37.32% Annoying