Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727), an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher. Newtons discoveries were prolific, exerting a huge influence on science and thought. His most famous works were Principia Mathematica (1687) and Opticks (1704). In Principia, he stated his universal laws of motion and defined his law of universal gravitation, which formed the basis of physics for the next two hundred years. He also formulated theories regarding optics and the nature of light, which led him to build the first reflecting telescope. In 1705, he was knighted by Queen Anne and is buried in Westminster Abbey, London, UK.