Childhood and Youth
From an early age of 12 till he turned 17, Newton went to The King's School in Grantham. Newton turned himself into the best student in his school. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge in June, 1661. Newton read a lot of philosophical writings of Descartes and showed great interest in Astronomy as well. He read ideas of Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. Newton received his degree in August 1665. The college closed down due to the Great Plague but Newton continued his researches on mathematical theories like generalised binomial theorem. This theory was later developed into infinitesimal calculus. For few years after the plague, Newton spent all his private time in developing his theories on calculus, optics and the law of gravitation. The year 1667 saw Newton in Cambridge as a fellow student of Trinity College. In 1669 a series of events led Newton’s selection as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. Newton replaced Isaac Barrow for the prestigious post.