Who discovered gravity? Isaac Newton, inspired by a falling apple, revealed the universal law that transformed science and our view of the universe. Things have been falling out of trees since prehistoric times, and surely Isaac Newton wasn't the first to notice it. He was, though, the first to come up with and record a theory about why apples and other things fall the way they do – the theory that we now know as the law of gravity. Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity in 1687, realizing the same force that makes apples fall from tree limbs also keeps the Moon in orbit. Learn about the origins and development of theories of gravitation from ancient times to the 20th century. Find out who discovered gravity and how it was explained by different philosophers and scientists.
