TIME Magazines

17th Century

Person of the Year

Isaac Newton
- Vital Role in Scientific Revolution

And Honorable Mentions Include:

Baron de Montesquieu - Enlightenment

Johann Sebastian Bach - Artist
written by Elise Ashby
 Person of the Year
written by Elise Ashby

Isaac Newton’s Life and Influence

Isaac Newton is this year’s Person of the Year. He has had a hard childhood, which
many believe to be the cause of his psychological problems today. Newton’s father died
before he was born, and Newton was later left by his step-father to be raised by his
grandmother, separating him from his mother at a very young age. However, regardless of
these issues, he has become a mastered mathematician and physicist, whose influence will
last for centuries to come.
Newton started to get an education at a grammar school in England. After family
estate interruptions, he resumed his education at a university, Trinity College, Cambridge.
Here he learned about Aristotle and others involved in the scientific revolution, along with
Descartes and other philosophers, and he graduated with a bachelor’s degree; later, he also
achieved a master’s degree. Newton had become dedicated to finding truth.
While still at school, Newton began a set of note pages he called Quaestiones
Quaedam Philosophicae, where he recorded questions he had, concepts he discovered, and
theorems he developed.
Then, Newton formed a binomial theorem and developed calculus. He wrote a
manuscript about these discoveries. After revisions, he titled it De methodis serierum et
fluxionum. He also wrote an essay about the foundations of calculus called Of Colours.
While Newton was not super famous at this point, he was now the top mathematician in
Europe.
Newton later went on to discover the first reflecting telescope, and experimented
with white light and refraction. He went on to publish Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
Mathematica, which is where he explained his discovery of the three laws of motion and
gravity. Through this discovery he had become more famous and began to have an
influence on the people of his time. With this influence, Newton opposed the Catholic
teachings, and was later elected into Parliament. Next, Newton published Opticks,
explaining his work with refraction and color spectrum.
Newton was also passionate about history and religion. After his death, multiple
books were compiled and published from his writings on the subjects.
Centuries later, Newton will still be famous for his discoveries and achievements.
Schools will teach kids mainly about his part in the scientific revolution. He will be most
famous for discovering the laws of motion and gravity, which Einstein and many other
scientists use to form further theories and ideas. Although, he has also developed calculus,
which will be learned globally and later be used in industries like medical, engineering,
biology, and much more.
Honorable Mentions
written by Elise Ashby

Baron de Montesquieu in 2nd Place

Montesquieu is a French political philosopher. He has had a great impact on countries’
political organization, especially states’ constitutions. Montesquieu is most known for The
Spirit of the Laws, in which he wrote about the types of government and his own theories.
His theory was and still is a solution to his idea that power will be abused. In his theory,
there is separation of powers. He divided government into three groups that must stay
separate if the government is to run justly: legislative, executive, and judicial. He proposed
ideas on what each group would do to create, enforce, and make judgements on the laws of
a state. Montesquieu also wrote about the checks and balances the branches of government
will have. This kept each branch in check from operating unfairly and not becoming too
powerful. These concepts are what inspired the United States Constitution and their main
government structure. Montesquieu also wrote many literary works, like Persian Letters,
which influenced his current society and made him famous.

Johann Sebastian Bach in 3rd Place

Bach is one of the most important figures in western music. During his lifetime, he was well
known as a talented organist. He played mostly at churches, but also in other
circumstances, like for royalty. Bach composed hundreds of pieces, but few were ever
published within his life. One of his more famous pieces is a collection of pieces in a book
called The Well-Tempered Clavier, which was meant to help students learn how to play
according to certain techniques and methods. Many of his compositions also included
several instruments’ parts. After his death, Bach was recognized for how influential of a
composer he was. He was admired by later musical genius’ including Mozart and
Beethoven. Even centuries after his life, Bach is still thought of as one of the most
influential people in music, and his compositions will still be used to master the keyboard.
 Sources

Biography.com Editors. (2019). Johann Sebastian Bach Biography. Retrieved from

https://www.biography.com/musician/johann-sebastian-bach
History.com Editors. (2019). Isaac Newton. Retrieved from
https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/isaac-newton
Shackleton, R. (2019). Montesquieu. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Montesquieu
Westfall, R. (2019). Isaac Newton. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isaac-Newton