Sir Isaac Newton 1696 timeline:
March 19 - Newton is offered an appointment as Warden of the Mint by Charles Montagu; Newton accepts.
April 20 - Newton departs Cambridge for London to occupy the position at the Mint.
August - Newton moves to the Jermyn Street house, London.
Isaac Newton was appointed Warden of the Royal Mint in the spring of 1696 on the recommendation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Montague.
At first sight this may seem a somewhat curious, even backward, step for a man in his early fifties whose life had been spent in the academic surroundings of Trinity College, Cambridge. Public office was something new to him, but it was actually something that he had sought, and so the offer of the position of Warden of the Mint would not have been unwelcome.
In 1699 Isaac Newton became Master of the Royal Mint; a post which he occupied until his death in 1727. During this time Newton took an active role in reforming the nation’s coinage.
Scrupulously exact, he was an honest and respected man who cared for his reputation. There is no doubt that throughout his 30-year career at the Royal Mint he set a high standard and raised its status by his presence. He is indeed a distinguished part of a distinguished history. In 1704 Newton’s research on light and colour was published in Opticks. He also studied and published works on history, theology and alchemy. Isaac Newton was knighted by Queen Anne in Cambridge in 1705 and is buried at Westminster Abbey.
Tip! Considered one of the greatest scientific minds of all time, mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton formulated theories about motion, gravity and calculus, among a range of other topics. The son of an illiterate farmer, Newton also was a temperamental loner and often secretive about his work.
Find out more about this fascinating Englishman, from his long-term interest in alchemy to the job he held that involved sending people to the gallows to the cause of one of his most bitter rivalries at History.com.