Library of Congress
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1726) was a British mad scientist with bipolar disorder and a torrent of discoveries in the world of science, mathematics, and physics, from laws to theories to facts.
The most famous story about Newton is that an apple fell on his head, inspiring him to develop the law of gravity. While an apple did not actually fall on Newton’s head, it did fall as the scientist was sitting in a garden with apple trees. He wondered why the apple didn’t fall sideways or upwards and realized that it was the earth’s gravitational pull that caused the apple to fall down to the earth, and that the earth pulled the apple.
Newton also discovered major developments in astronomy and math. The scientist’s laws laid the groundwork for measurements of distances, speeds, and weights, paving the way for such modern inventions as the space rocket and the steam engine.
Sir Isaac Newton showed signs of bipolar — then called meloncholia and depression — as early as boyhood. He was a solitary child, who didn’t play with other kids but instead built miniature machines and other inventions. Egotistical and hyperactive, he acted out, experiencing symptoms of rage, which he vented on his family and friends. He remembered “threatening my father and mother to burn them and the house over them.”
Regret was another symptom of his illness, and he wrote out lists of his “sins” and misdeeds. These included punching his sister and exhibiting crankiness toward his mother. Because of his hot temper, he was unpopular among his peers, who were thrilled when he left to study at Cambridge.
At Cambridge, Newton made only one friend. His diaries from his college years demonstrate fear, anxiety, low self-esteem, sadness, and suicidal thoughts.
He was appointed a fellow and continued to experience manic phases of overworking, frequently forgetting to eat. When depression struck, he would withdraw from the scientific community, willfully impeding his research.
He was a recluse, barely socializing with people. He wouldn’t allow discussions with those in the scientific community who disagreed with him. He was quarrelsome.
Because Newton did not want to be famous, he preferred his research to be published anonymously.
Biographer Jane Jakeman writes in her book Newton:
“At times of depression, Newton hallucinated and had conversations with absent people. He became obsessed with religion and immersed himself in alchemy. He spent 25 years in the study of alchemy in secret, searching for mysterious elixirs and writing thousands of pages on the subject.”
In his scribblings on religion and alchemy, he wrote that he believed he was chosen by God to bring God’s truth to the world.
It is events like these that lead to a posthumous diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Sir Isaac Newton also invented calculus, so you have him to blame for those excruciating advanced classes in high school.
