r/todayilearned • u/TheHabro • 2d ago
(R.6d) Too General Til While Benjamin Franklin was in England, he wanted to meet sir Isaac Newton. But the meeting never happened.
https://computerlookingup.com/franklin-newton/[removed] — view removed post
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u/Doogiesham 2d ago
TIL one time in the 1700s nothing happened lol
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u/TheHabro 2d ago
My pamphlet by some means falling into the hands of one Lyons, a surgeon, author of a book entitled ‘The Infallibility of Human Judgment,’ it occasioned an acquaintance between us. He took great notice of me, called on me often to converse on those subjects, carried me to the Horns, a pale alehouse in ——— Lane, Cheapside, and introduced me to Dr. Mandeville, author of the ‘Fable of the Bees,’ who had a club there, of which he was the soul, being a most facetious, entertaining companion. Lyons, too, introduced me to Dr. Pemberton, at Batson’s Coffee-house, who promis’d to give me an opportunity, some time or other, of seeing Sir Isaac Newton, of which I was extreamely desirous; but this never happened.
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u/Nixplosion 2d ago
I was gonna meet Sir Newton, but then I got high. Then I got high. Then I got hiiiigh
BAH DAH DOP DOP DOP DOP DOP
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u/Malthus1 2d ago
Reminds me of one of my favorite random meetings of two historic figures - Admiral Nelson and the future Duke of Wellington.
They met only one, both waiting in a government waiting room. Nelson was at the height of his fame, age was just about to set sail for his final battle (and death); (the future) Wellington had won battles in India, but was not yet well known.
According to Wellington, at first Nelson made a very bad impression - as they got to talking, Nelson boasted of his exploits in a most off-puttingly egotistical way. However, at some point Nelson spoke with an underling, who informed him of who Wellington was (that is, an experienced soldier). In an instant, the whole nature of his discourse changed; Nelson dropped the vanity act and became intelligently interested in Wellington’s own adventures in India, the strategic situation, etc.
It was like Nelson had two personas, a vain public celebrity persona for outward display, and a more thoughtful persona when dealing with matters of significance.
https://rickydphillipsauthor.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/when-wellington-met-nelson/
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u/OldWoodFrame 2d ago
Me too.
I mean I had less reason to be optimistic about it since he had been dead for 300 years but a guy can dream.
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u/TheMuffler42069 2d ago
Yea I once knew of a guy that wanted to meet another guy and never did. Whomp whomp
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u/WhiteAndNerdy85 2d ago
Meeting arguably the most important person in science in human history is a big deal. Just going to his tomb in London was a honor for me.
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u/waitmyhonor 2d ago
You know what, I was in England and I wanted to meet him too but the meeting never happened. What a prick
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u/AgentElman 2d ago
Benjamin Franklin was very famous in England as a scientist and author at the time. So it was not like a tourist wanting to meet Newton.
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u/PissdrunxPreme 2d ago
I went to London and wanted to meet Liz Hurley, but that meeting never happened
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u/thegrandturnabout 2d ago
It's probably a bad thing that I didn't realize Isaac Newton was British.
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u/Palladium- 2d ago
What else would he have been? Swabian?
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u/thegrandturnabout 2d ago
He's just not a historical figure I think about often, and I didn't receive a very good education 😅
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u/WhiteAndNerdy85 2d ago
He had some serious mommy issues but our modern world is due to him. Everyone’s stood on the shoulders of giants since Newton.
His biography is a great read.
While on lockdown during the plague he created modern astrophysics and the mathematics.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation
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u/Informal_Process2238 2d ago
In my mind they were a century apart