A first-edition copy of Isaac Newton's legendary book "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) has been discovered in a library on the French island of Corsica.
According to Vannina Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff, director of conservation at the Fesch public heritage library in Ajaccio, she discovered a mention of the manuscript in an index from the library's founder Lucien Bonaparte (brother of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte).
"I found the Holy Grail in the main room, hidden in the upper shelves. The cover has a little damage but inside it's in excellent condition—this is the cornerstone of modern mathematics", she stated.
📜|Découverte
— Ville d’Ajaccio - Cità d'Aiacciu (@VilledAjaccio) March 4, 2020
Le « Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica » d'Isaac #Newton : c'est le trésor exceptionnel datant de 1686, qui a été récemment découvert à la bibliothèque patrimoniale d'#Ajaccio !
Infos 👉🏻 https://t.co/Y6XH8PsoTr#ajaccio #corse pic.twitter.com/uelyRe8VC9
In the book, published in Latin in 1687 and later translated into English, the scientist described his understanding of the laws of gravity, motion, and optics, setting the foundation of classical mechanics and developing general mathematic methods.
