Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1687

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica

Isaac Newton · 1687

Newton's 1687 masterwork setting out the laws of motion and universal gravitation, founding classical mechanics.

Newton's own founding work of classical mechanics, written and published by him.

Ask Isaac Newton about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Title page of the 1687 first edition of Newton's Principia. Large capitals read PHILOSOPHIÆ NATURALIS PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA, with author credit, Imprimatur by S. Pepys, dated Julii 5, 1686, and London printing by Josephi Streater, Anno MDCLXXXVII.
Isaac Newton, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, 1687. First edition title page.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of the first edition (1687) of Newton's Principia, written in Latin and published in three volumes. It was authorised for printing by Samuel Pepys, then president of the Royal Society.

Why it matters

The Principia is considered one of the most important works in the history of science. It laid out Newton's three laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation, giving a mathematical explanation for Kepler's laws of planetary motion and much more. It shows how Newton combined mathematics (including methods that became calculus) with observation to explain the physical world.

Look closer

  • Why might Newton have chosen to write in Latin rather than English?
  • What does the Royal Society's approval on the title page tell you about how scientific authority worked in the 1680s?
  • How might ordinary readers of the time have reacted to such a mathematically dense book?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Isaac Newton on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Isaac Newton sources

Meet the AI Isaac Newton →
Title page with a page number marked [1] at top, reading PHILOSOPHIAE NATURALIS Principia MATHEMATICA, followed by the heading Definitiones and Def. I, with a Latin definition of quantity of matter in italic type. Faint bleed-through text from the reverse page is visible.Book

Primary source

Principia Mathematica, Page 1: Definitions

Isaac Newton · 1687

Black-and-white line engraving of an elderly man with long, wavy white hair seated in a dark armchair, wearing a dark coat, waistcoat, and white cravat, with his hands resting on his knee. A column appears at the right. Inscribed beneath: 'ISAACUS NEWTON EQ. AUR. ÆT. 83', with 'I. Vanderbank pinxit 1725' at lower left and 'Geo. Vertue Sculpsit 1726' at lower right.Painting

Primary source

Sir Isaac Newton, line engraving by Vertue, 1726

George Vertue · 1726

Engraved diagram on a cream page within a book, showing a curved comet path from Sol at left, with dated positions such as Nov. 25, Dec. 12, Jan. 5 and Mar. 5, labeled orbit lines and a sphere intersection line.Document

Primary source

Principia Mathematica, Fold-out Diagram

Isaac Newton · 1687

Engraved portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, a man with long curled wig and dark robe, bust-length, against a shaded background. Caption below reads 'SIR ISAAC NEWTON' and publisher 'William Collins Glasgow & London'.Painting

Primary source

Sir Isaac Newton, stipple engraving by J. Scott after Kneller, 1702

J. Scott, after Sir Godfrey Kneller · 1702 (print made later)

Title page of the 1704 first edition of Newton's Opticks. Red and black letters read 'OPTICKS: OR, A TREATISE OF THE REFLEXIONS, REFRACTIONS, INFLEXIONS and COLOURS OF LIGHT', followed by 'Also Two Treatises of the Species and Magnitude of Curvilinear Figures'. Imprint: London, printed for Sam. Smith and Benj. Walford, MDCCIV.Book

Primary source

Opticks, or a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light

Isaac Newton · 1704

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Isaac Newton now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions