Isaac Newton was an English mathematician and physicist born in 1642. He attended Cambridge University where he developed his theories of optics and mathematics. In his most influential work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Newton formulated his law of universal gravitation and three laws of motion, establishing classical mechanics. Newton's theory enjoyed great success, including predicting the existence of Neptune, though it was later superseded by Einstein's theory of general relativity. Newton made seminal contributions in optics, mathematics, and physics and was considered a founding father of modern science.