Newton, Isaac

Newton, Isaac (1800–67) agriculturalist; born in Burlington County, N.J. By his mid-20s he was managing two farms in Springfield, Pa., so successfully that he opened a confectionery shop and sold ice cream made from his dairy surplus. Active in the state and national Agricultural Society, he urged Congress to establish a department of agriculture. In 1861 President Lincoln appointed him supervisor of the agricultural division of the Patent Office. In 1862 Congress created the Department of Agriculture with Newton as its first commissioner. In his annual reports he emphasized the importance of weather and climate to agriculture. He died from the effects of a sunstroke he received while working in the department's experimental field.

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Newton, Isaac

(1642–1727) English mathematician whose observation of apple’s fall led to treatise on gravitation. [Br. Hist.: EB, 13: 16–21]

See : Apple