A Briefer History Of Time Part 5

Newton soon clashed with the Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, who had earlier provided him with much-needed data for Principia Principia but was now withholding information that Newton wanted. Newton would not take no for an answer: he had himself appointed to the governing body of the Royal Observatory and then tried to force immediate publication of the data. Eventually he arranged for Flamsteed's work to be seized and prepared for publication by Flamsteed's mortal enemy, Edmond Halley. But Flamsteed took the case to court and, in the nick of time, won a court order preventing distribution of the stolen work. Newton was incensed and sought his revenge by systematically deleting all references to Flamsteed in later editions of but was now withholding information that Newton wanted. Newton would not take no for an answer: he had himself appointed to the governing body of the Royal Observatory and then tried to force immediate publication of the data. Eventually he arranged for Flamsteed's work to be seized and prepared for publication by Flamsteed's mortal enemy, Edmond Halley. But Flamsteed took the case to court and, in the nick of time, won a court order preventing distribution of the stolen work. Newton was incensed and sought his revenge by systematically deleting all references to Flamsteed in later editions of Principia Principia A more serious dispute arose with the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz. Both Leibniz and Newton had independently developed a branch of mathematics called calculus, which underlies most of modern physics. Although we now know that Newton discovered calculus years before Leibniz, he published his work much later. A major row ensued over who had been first, with scientists vigorously defending both contenders. It is remarkable, however, that most of the articles appearing in defense of Newton were originally written by his own hand, though published under the names of friends! As the row grew, Leibniz made the mistake of appealing to the Roy al Society to resolve the dispute. Newton, as president, appointed an "impartial" committee to investigate, coincidentally consisting entirely of his friends! But that was not all: Newton then wrote the committee's report himself and had the Royal Society publish it, officially accusing Leibniz of plagiarism. Still unsatisfied, he then wrote an anonymous review of the report in the Royal Society's own periodical. Following the death of Leibniz, Newton is reported to have declared that he had taken great satisfaction in "breaking Leibniz's heart."

During the period of these two disputes, Newton had already left Cambridge and academe. He had been active in anti-Catholic politics at Cambridge and later in Parliament, and was rewarded eventually with the lucrative post of Warden of the Royal Mint. Here he used his talents for deviousness and vitriol in a more socially acceptable way, successfully conducting a major campaign against counterfeiting, even sending several men to their death on the gallows.

About the Authors

STEPHEN HAWKING is Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge; his other books for the general reader include the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universes Black Holes and Baby Universes and and The The Universe in aNutsh.e.l.l. Universe in aNutsh.e.l.l.

LEONARD MLODINOW, his collaborator for this new edition, has taught at Caltech, written for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and is the author of and is the author of Euclid's Window Euclid's Window and and Feynman's Rainbow Feynman's Rainbow and the coauthor of the children's book series The Kids of Einstein Elementary. and the coauthor of the children's book series The Kids of Einstein Elementary.

ALSO BY STEPHEN HAWKING.

A Brief History of Time

Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays

The Ill.u.s.trated A Brief History of Time

The Universe in a Nutsh.e.l.l

ALSO BY LEONARD MLODINOW.

Euclid's Window

Feynman's Rainbow