Isaac Newton - Personal Life

Personal Life

Newton never married, and no evidence has been uncovered that he had any romantic relationship. Although it is impossible to verify, it is commonly believed that he died a virgin, as has been commented on by such figures as mathematician Charles Hutton, economist John Maynard Keynes, and physicist Carl Sagan.

French writer and philosopher Voltaire, who was in London at the time of Newton's funeral, claimed to have verified the fact, writing that "I have had that confirmed by the doctor and the surgeon who were with him when he died" (allegedly he stated on his deathbed that he was a virgin). In 1733, Voltaire publicly stated that Newton "had neither passion nor weakness; he never went near any woman".

Newton did have a close friendship with the Swiss mathematician Nicolas Fatio de Duillier, whom he met in London around 1690. Their friendship came to an unexplained end in 1693. Some of their correspondence has survived.

Read more about this topic:  Isaac Newton

Famous quotes containing the words personal and/or life:

    Personality and mind, like moustaches, belong to a certain age. They are a deformity in a child.... Leave his sensibilities, his emotions, his spirit, and his mind severely alone. There is the devil in mothers, that they must provoke personal ... response from their infants.
    —D.H. (David Herbert)

    Jupiter, not wanting man’s life to be wholly gloomy and grim, has bestowed far more passion than reason—you could reckon the ration as twenty-four to one. Moreover, he confined reason to a cramped corner of the head and left all the rest of the body to the passions.
    Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)