In this narrated excerpt from the National Geographic book by Philip Steele, Lois Letchford introduces Isaac Newton’s birth on December 25, 1642, against the backdrop of the English Civil War. She details the circumstances of his parents—his father Isaac Newton, a prosperous but illiterate farmer who died before his son’s birth, and his mother Hannah, a woman from a higher social class whose brother was a Cambridge‑educated clergyman. The reading describes the remote village of Woolsthorpe, the harsh winter conditions, and the early years of Newton’s life, including the 1643 baptism and the fact that the same year Galileo died. At age three, Hannah remarried a wealthy, indifferent clergyman, Barnabas Smith, and moved away, leaving young Isaac in the care of his grandmother, Margery Ayscough. The narrative emphasizes Newton’s feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and a simmering rage that he later recalled, setting a psychological foundation for his later achievements. The segment ends with a teaser for the next part and a call to like and subscribe.
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Hello, I'm Lois Letchford, author of the book Reversed: A Memoir, founder of Teaching Students with Dyslexia, and reading about scientists who changed the world. This one is Isaac Newton. It's written in 4 parts, so I'm going to read it in 4 parts. It's put out by National Geographic and written by Philip Steele. Born in midwinter. It was 2 o'clock in the morning. And it was dark and bitterly cold. The date was a special one, December 25th, 1642. It would be a strange Christmas this year. King Charles I was at war with the English Parliament and a civil war was raging throughout the country. These were troubled times in England. At Walsthorpe Manor, the windows were bright with candles and firelight, but this had nothing to do with Christmas. Nor were there shoulders there with lanterns demanding lodging for the night, as sometimes happened in those days. The reason why people were up at such an hour soon became clear as the cry of the newborn child rang out from the upstairs bedroom. It was a boy who arrived early and was looking weak and sickly. In fact, he was so small, so he said in later life, he could have fitted Into a quart pot, which measured about 2 pints. The owner of Willsthorpe Manor and the baby's father had been an independent farmer named Isaac Newton. Sadly, Isaac Newton died in October 1642, just before his son was born. Isaac had been a prosperous man of some standing in the neighbourhood, but like most of the farmers, he could not read. All right. The baby's mother was named Hannah, and she came from a higher social class than her husband. Her brother, William Alescoff, was a clergyman who lived in the nearby village of Burton Cogges. William was an educated gentleman who had studied at Cambridge University. The baby was baptised at the first day of the new year of 1643. He was given his father's name. Isaac Newton. The younger Isaac Newton was born in the same year that the great Italian scientist Galileo Galilei died. Galileo argued that the Earth revolved around the sun rather than the other way around. Isaac too would grow up to be one of the greatest scientists ever born. But in Walthorpe nobody knew much about science, nor of an Italian named Galileo. Walthorpe was a very small village near Colchester in the eastern county of Lancashire, some 100 miles north of London. Much of the county was made up of low-lying, waterlogged flatlands known as the Fens. In northern Lincolnshire the ground was higher. Rising to green hills called Wolds. Woldsthorpe lay on the plateau in the west of the county surrounded by farmland. It was near the highway which ran from London to York, which had been one of the most important trade and travel routes in Britain since Roman times. The first years of Isaac's life were peaceful enough, although the Civil War cast a shadow over everyday life throughout In 1643, Lincolnshire fell into the hands of the Parliamentary army. When Isaac was 3 years old, in January 1646, his mother decided to marry again. Her new husband was a clergyman named Barnabas Smith. Smith was already 63 years old and was a wealthy man. He had no interest at all in young Isaac and was neither kind nor friendly. He had no interest at all in young Isaac and was neither kind nor friendly. Hannah moved away to live with her new husband at North Witham, about a mile and a half from Woolsthorpe. It was decided that Isaac would be left behind at Woolsthorpe Manor. He would be looked after by his grandmother, Margery Ayscough, Hannah's mother. Isaac felt abandoned and desperately lonely. He had never known his father, and now his mother had left him as well. He was full of rage, and his anger seems to have been smouldering inside him throughout his life. When Isaac was older, he confessed that he had threatened to burn down the house of his mother And stepfather over their heads. The World Turned Upside Down is what the intervening chapter is, and I'll stop there. Join me tomorrow. Hit like, hit subscribe, and enjoy learning about Isaac Newton, because content and understanding history is a great fun part of Learning Direct.
