Isaac Newton

Born in England on January 4, Isaac Newton was an established physicist and mathematician who is credited as one of the great minds of the 17th century Scientific Revolution. With discoveries in optics, motion and mathematics, Newton developed the principles of modern physics. In 1687, he published his most acclaimed work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), one of the most influential books on the subject of physics. Newton passed away in London on March 31, 1727.

When Newton arrived at Cambridge, the Scientific Revolution of the 17th c. was thriving. The heliocentric view of the universe—theorized by astronomers Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler, and later refined by Galileo—was well known in most European academic circles. During his first years at Cambridge, Newton was taught the standard curriculum but was fascinated with the advanced world of science. As the plague hit Europe Newton focused on his intriguing studies. When the threat of plague subsided in 1667, Newton returned to Cambridge and was elected a minor fellow at Trinity College, in the following years Newton received his Master of Arts degree and was able to come across Nicholas Mercator's published book on methods for dealing with infinite series. Newton quickly wrote a treatise; De Analysi, expounding the theories into his own theories. Newton’s Principia formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, which greatly impacted universal studies in the following centuries. Going through Kepler’s laws of planetary motion Newton was able to use basic principles to account for the understanding of comets, the tides, and other natural phenomena. Newton also constructed the first practical telescope and developed a theory of color based on the observation of a prism and the involvement of white light. His discoveries remain highly recognized in history and the world of science today.

Scrofula

During the Middle Ages it was believed in England and France that a touch from royalty could heal skin disease known as or the “monarch's evil touch”. Scrofula symptoms included swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck caused by tuberculosis. King Edward the Confessor in England (1003–1066) and Philip (1052–1108) in France first began this practice. English and French inherited this ‘king's touch’ with the idea of their right to rule was God-given. In ceremonies, kings would touch the crowds of people plagued with scrofula. The people received special gold coins called ‘touch–pieces’ which they treated as amulets.  By the late 1400s it was believed that an individual could be cured by an ‘angel’ coin that was touched by the monarch. Many kinds were not afraid to touch people such as King Henry IV of France, who touched up to 1500 diseased victims at one campaign. The last English monarch to carry out this practice was Queen Anne, who died in 1714 with the plague continuing in France long after her death. Louis XV had touched around two thousand scrofula victims and the last French monarch, Charles X touched a generous amount of 1825 victims. In the beginning of the 18^th c., Elizabeth Pearan, an Irish herbalist developed a treatment for scrofula. Involving herbs and a poultice this extraction cured the deadly disease. In 1815 Sir Gerard Noel petitioned to the House of Commons advocating Pearson’s treatment. Finally in the 19^th c., America advertised the cure for scrofula.

Maps of the First Voyages of Discovery

The Medieval trade centers on the Mediterranean. But with the fall of Constantinople (1453) the Mediterranean becomes less secure. Europeans were eager to find new trade routes further to the east. Explores became increasingly innovative in their navigation tools such as the sextant. A sextant could measure the angle of the horizon thus helped them determine their exact longitude. European explorers heavily impacted various lands and their people. Explorers such as Prince Henry the Navigator (1394–1460) contributed to the establishment of the Atlantic slave trade: eager young men began their search for unknown lands. The gifted navigator Amerigo Vespucci (1451–1512) was first to explore the coasts of Brazil. The name Amerigo was adopted as ‘America’ which is known as modern day Brazil. In Brazil, Portugal established large colonial plantation to satisfy the high demand for sugar. The planation’s earned profit until the Jesuit missionaries succeeded in restricted supply of Indian Slaves that were available to colonists. 1482 world map based on Ptolemy’s (100–168 c.)  was an successful map created during the first explorations (150 A.D). the very beginning of successful voyages Geography (c. 150 AD) that created a map of the world that only consisted of Asia, Europe, and South America. During the following 15^th and 16^th c., leaders of different European nations. The Portuguese were the earliest to participate in the “Age of Discovery.” One of these curious Portuguese explorers was Christopher Columbus. Son of a wool merchant, he was born in Genoa in 1451.  On August 3, 1492, Columbus and his men Sailed out to sea with three ships; Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. On October 12, ships made land on the land Columbus thought to be the Bahamian islands. With the increase in knowledge of the earth’s land, map-makers had the opportunity to advance their maps to the world. Waldseemuller’s map included data gathered during Amerigo. Vespucci’s voyages of 1501–1501 to the New World. Waldseemuller’s maps supported Vespucci’s revolutionary concept of the portraying the New World as a spate continent. Something that was unknown to the Europeans.  as the new