What Awards Did Isaac Newton Receive?

By Staff Writer | Last Updated August 4, 2015

Prominent English physicist Sir Isaac Newton received several awards and honors such as a knighthood, the top mathematics professor at Cambridge University, admission to the Royal Society, a seat in Parliament and burial in Westminster Abbey. Newton lived from Jan. 4, 1643 until March 31, 1727, and he is considered one of the inventors of calculus.

Educationally, Newton gained acceptance into Trinity College at the University of Cambridge in 1661 after he failed to follow his father’s footsteps as a farmer. Four years later, Newton earned a bachelor’s degree from the prestigious university. Newton earned a master’s degree in 1668, and a year later he was awarded the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge, an appointment he achieved at 27 when he succeeded his mentor and first Lucasian Chair, Isaac Barrow. Newton resigned the chair in 1701.

In 1672, Newton was admitted to the Royal Society. The physicist was elected the group’s president in 1703, and each year thereafter, until his death in 1727. The Royal Society is an academy of scientists started in the 1660s by King Charles II. Thanks to Newton’s political connections, he was elected to Parliament twice from the University of Cambridge in 1689 and 1701. Newton was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705 and was buried in Westminster Abbey after his death.