Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day in 1642, but today's date -- the 11th Day of Christmas -- is now recognized as his birthday. In 1750, 23 years after Newton's death, Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar, resulting in a "loss" of eleven days, and a great deal of confusion about reconciling dates from the past. You may see the letters "OS" and "NS" (for Old Style and New Style) attached to many date references in the 1600s and 1700s. My tie shows many of Newton's equations for mechanics and gravitation, and the apples refer to the apocryphal story (legend) that he "discovered" gravity after observing an apple falling from a tree.
No comments:
Post a Comment