The World's Greatest Man
Isaac Newton
(Date unknown)
Isaac Newton. Engraving of Sir Isaac Newton (1642- 1727), English physicist and mathematician, discovering that his notes on optics are burning. This incident, in 1692, was blamed for a nervous breakdown that Newton suffered and his subsequent retirment for two years. The accident happened as Newton was preparing his book on light, Opticks (1704). Whilst attending a church service in Trinity College at Cambridge University, Newton's dog, Diamond, knocked over a lighted candle onto several years' notes on optical experiments. On discovering this, Newton alledgedly exclaimed 'Oh Diamond, Diamond, little do you know the mischief you have done me'.