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On Jan 12, 2004, at 4:26 PM, Bullard, Claude L (Len) wrote: > > > STimBL deserves the knighthood. So does James Clark. > Perhaps so did Mick and Paul, but that isn't a historical > profundity as much as a sign of what a knighthood means > to the folks who make those choices. > Indeed. Isaac Newton's knighthood is popularly thought to be a recognition of his scientific achievements, but is more likely due to the patronage of Charles Montague, Earl of Halifax. The most charitable interpretation would be that he was honored for his service to the Mint; the most likely was that he was honored for his service to Halifax's political career. The least charitable would be to note that Newton's niece was Halifax's mistress :-) see James Glieck's recent biography of Newton and http://home.att.net/~newtuniv/newtonbio.html But I suppose John Cowan has read the primary sources in his spare time and will debunk this :-)
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