Sir Isaac Newton

He became professor of mathematics at Cambridge in 1669, where he resumed his work on gravitation. In 1696 he was appointed warden of the Mint, and was master of the Mint from 1699 until his death. He also sat in parliament on two occasions, was elected President of the Royal Society in 1703, and was knighted in 1705. During his life he was involved in many controversies, notably with Leibniz over the question of priority in the discovery of calculus. He died in London on March 20, 1727.