The pioneering mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton has been named the greatest Briton of all time by overseas voters in a poll conducted by the BBC world satellite news network. Newton (1642-1727), who formulated the Theory of Gravity and is considered to have laid many of the foundations of modern science, ranked ahead of Winston Churchill and Princess Diana, grabbing more than 21 per cent of the vote. The top 10 • Sir Isaac Newton • Winston Churchill • Princess Diana • William Shakespeare • Charles Darwin • John Lennon • Isambard Kingdom Brunel • Queen Elizabeth I • General Oliver Cromwell • Admiral Horatio Nelson Viewers were asked to vote for the greatest among 10 British personalities profiled in a BBC documentary series entitled ‘‘great Britons’’. The voting, conducted solely on the internet, closed this week. ‘‘Newton’s achievements affected all mankind and I think it is a proper reflection of his genius that a global audience has voted him the greatest Briton,’’ according to historian Tristram Hunt. ‘‘Indeed, it was Newton’s advances in Physics — his understanding of gravity and planetary motion — that have sent satellites into space and allowed the series to be beamed round the globe. The world has now repaid the favour.’’ In second position came Britain’s World War II leader, Churchill, with 17 per cent of the vote, followed by the late Princess Diana with 13 per cent. The runners-up were renaissance playwright William Shakespeare, 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin and rock legend John Lennon. Then came the 19th-century civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Queen Elizabeth I, the 17th-century general and statesman Oliver Cromwell and the 18th-century Admiral Horatio Nelson.
