1642: Born December 25 in Woolsthorpe, north of London

1655: Attends Grantham Grammar School

1661: Enters Trinity College, Cambridge

1665: January—graduates Bachelor of Arts; August moves back home because of the plague

1666: Develops binomial theorem; invents the calculus; postulates a gravitational force holding the moon in its orbit; and proves that white light is a mixture of light of all colors

1667: Returns to Cambridge; elected fellow of Trinity College

1669: Elected Lucasian Professor of Mathematics

1672: Elected fellow of the Royal Society

1684: Edmund Halley’s visit leads to writing of the Principia

1687: Publication of Principia Mathematica

1689: Elected Member of Parliament

1693: Experiences mental breakdown

1696: Moves to London as Warden of the Mint

1700: Appointed Master of the Mint

1703: Elected president of the Royal Society

1704: Publication of Opticks

1705: Knighted by the Queen

1727: Dies March 20; buried in Westminster Abbey

Charles E. Hummel is author of The Galileo Connection and Genesis: God's Creative Call (both InterVarsity).