Isaac Newton Changed The World…While Under Quarantine

As we go through the coronavirus pandemic and the quarantine, it can be useful to reflect on similar events from the past and how people dealt with them. History often repeats itself, and no matter how many people proclaim how this situation is unprecedented, pandemics and quarantines have occurred many times before.

Looking at stories of how people went through past pandemics can give us guidance and encouragement. One such story I find very inspiring is about a young scientist who ended up transforming the world with his work while he was under quarantine.

355 years ago the Great Plague of London ravaged the city and ended up killing a quarter of the city’s population. It was a devastating event. Life was disrupted, business as usual was suspended, and people had to go under quarantine to counteract the spread of the plague.

One of those quarantined was Isaac Newton. He would later become one of the greatest scientists of all time, but in 1665 when the bubonic plague hit London, he was just fresh out of university, having earned his bachelor’s degree in August of 1665. He was 22 years old at the time, which coincidentally is my age now.

Many people would have had pity on Newton’s bad luck. He had just earned his degree and would be unable to take advantage of the…