Which Awards Were Given to Isaac Newton?
Sir Isaac Newton was awarded many honors during his life, mostly in the form of titles and positions. In addition to serving as a member, and later president, of The Royal Society, Isaac Newton served as a member of Parliament and professor at Cambridge University. The mathematician and astronomer invented calculus, defined universal laws of motion and gravity, and made discoveries in astronomy and chemistry.
Isaac Newton was awarded his first honor in 1665, at the age of 22, in the form of a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1667, he was elected a fellow of Trinity College and later earned a master’s degree from Trinity.
Academic honors followed quickly. Newton was appointed a Fellow of Trinity College in 1667. He became the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in 1668, a role he would fill until his resignation in 1701. In 1672, Isaac Newton was admitted to The Royal Society, of which he became president in 1703.
Newton was elected to Parliament on behalf of Cambridge University for the first time in 1688 and again in 1701. Newton became a foreign associate of the French Académie Royal des Sciences in 1699. In 1696, Newton was named master of the Royal Mint. After he died in 1727, he became the first scientist to be honored with interment in Westminster Abbey.
