G R AV I T Y F I E L D S F E S T I VA L
Growth of a Festival
F
ew of us truly knew
what to expect in 2012
when South Kesteven
District Council staged the
first Gravity Fields Festival.
We had a shared belief
with our partners on the
Steering Group that a festival
commemorating Sir Isaac
Newton - born and brought
up locally - was a perfect fit
and worthy of our investment.
It was a long overdue
celebration of a man
considered by many to be the
greatest and most influential
scientist and thinker who ever
lived.
What we were treated to was
simply awe-inspiring, from
the breadth and scope of
speakers to exhibitions that
widened our understanding of
Newton’s work and outdoor
events that literally stopped
the traffic. Grantham’s finale
showstopper, drawing 15,000
people to the town, will live
long in the memory.
So it is with great pleasure
that we present Gravity
Fields Festival 2014 with a
programme that promises
much by way of enjoyment
and enlightenment and an
event this council can be
proud of.
We are extremely grateful to
the Arts Council England,
Heritage Lottery Fund and
all other sponsors and
thank local companies,
organisations, schools,
voluntary groups and
businesses for their support.
Councillor Linda Neal
Leader, South Kesteven
District Council
G
ravity, optics, and
studies of the
universe ...they are all
synonymous with one man: Sir
Isaac Newton.
He was born on Christmas Day
1642 at Woolsthorpe Manor
near Grantham, the same
year that Galileo died. From
the age of 12 he attended the
King’s School in Grantham,
lodging with an apothecary in
the town’s High Street.
He studied at Trinity College,
Cambridge but the plague
years forced him home, where
he conducted some of the
most important experiments of
his life on light, optics and the
universe, and developed his
theories on calculus and gravity.
The schoolboy Newton loved
colours, making inks and
melting metals, writing cures
and developing potions. He
built his own telescope and
sundials and made working
models of windmills and carts.
Leaving Cambridge in his late
forties, Newton moved to
London and became Master
of the Royal Mint. In 1672
he became a member of the
Royal Society - at the forefront
of science since its foundation
in 1600 - and was elected
President in 1703. He held that
position for the rest of his life,
reflecting the esteem of the
scientific community.
Isaac Newton 1642 - 1727
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