Expert: Mark Smith - 5/20/2006

Question
I heard a theory once that the famous mathmatician, astronomer, and alchemist sir isaac newton was kind of odd and secretive.   It even went so far to imply that he was suspected of arranging a murder or something.  Normally I would be highly skeptic of such a claim, but the source was an astronomy professor and i dont think he would lie, if it isnt true, he must have read a bad source.

Have you heard anything about this?  and if it is true that this theory is out there, who was the victim and what would the motive have been?  Is the theory credible? or meerly impossible to dismiss?

I know that this is probably outside your normal range, but if you could even point me towards some credible online sources i would be more than happy to continue the search myself.

thanks
david

Answer
Hello David.
I've never heard this story and I cannot find any references to his being involved in a murder.
However a few years ago a novel entitled Dark Matter by Philip Kerr was published. It's a murder mystery set in the Tower of London in the late 1690s when Isaac Newton was Warden of the Mint there. I've never read it and I'm assuming Newton was the "good guy". It's entirely fictional, although given the ring of authenticity by being set in a time and a place where Newton would have been in reality. Perhaps this has got something to do with the story.
It's true that he was a solitary, slightly strange genius and that sort of character often give rise to wierd suggestions about their lives. He was also rumoured to be a member of the Rosicrucians, a Freemason-like society, another source of "gossip".

Mark