aking
discovery of the law of universal gravitation was not promulgated until
1687, though the first glimpse of it had come to him so early as 1665.
The discovery of fluxions, which he claimed, was contested by Leibnitz,
and led to a long and bitter controversy between the two philosophers. He
twice sat in Parliament for his Univ., and was Master of the Mint from
1699, in which capacity he presented reports on the coinage. He was
knighted in 1705, and _d._ at Kensington in 1727. For a short time, after
an unfortunate accident by which a number of invaluable manuscripts were
burned, he suffered from some mental aberration. His writings fall into
two classes, scientific and theological. In the first are included his
famous treatises, _Light and Colours_ (1672), _Optics_ (1704), the
_Principia_ (1687), in Latin, its full title being _Philosophiae Naturalis
Principia Mathematica_. In the second are his _Observations upon the
Prophecies of Holy Writ_ and _An Historical Account of Two Notable
Corruptions of Scripture_. In character N. was remarkable for simplicity,
humility, and gentleness, with a great distaste for controversy, in
which, nevertheless, he was repeatedly involved. _Life_ by Sir D.
Brewster, second ed., 1855, etc.

NEWTON, JOHN (1725-1807).--Divine and hymn-writer, _s._ of a shipmaster,
was _b._ in London, and for many years led a varied and adventurous life
at sea, part of the time on board a man-of-war and part as captain of a
slaver. In 1748 he came under strong religious convictions, and after
acting as a tide-waiter at Liverpool for a few years, he applied for
orders in 1758, and was ordained curate of Olney in 1764. Here he became
the intimate and sympathetic friend of Cowper, in conjunction with whom
he produced the _Olney Hymns_. In 1779 he was translated to the Rectory
of St. Mary, Woolnoth, London, where he had great popularity and
influence, and wrote many religious works, including _Cardiphonia_, and
_Remarkable Passages in his Own Life_. He lives, however, in his hymns,
among which are some of the best and most widely known in the language,
such as _In evil long I took delight_, _Glorious things of Thee are
Spoken_, _How Sweet the Name of Jesus sounds_, and many others. In his
latter years N. was blind.

NICHOL, JOHN (1833-1894).--Poet and biographer, _s._ of John P.N., Prof.
of Astronomy in Glasgow, _ed._ at Glasgow and Oxf., and held the chair of
English Literature in Glasgow, 1862-1889. Amo