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> the only thing ever recorded spoken by him is a request to close the window Does anyone know where I can find this?

by munro 3y ago

HansardExpert 3y ago
The Wikipedia entry for Newton mentions this and cites Michael White's book from 1997 - The last sorcerer. In that he states "Newton was an MP for almost exactly one year, but he seems to have contributed nothing personally to the proceedings of the new parliament. He reported back to the Vice-Chancellor faithfully and in minute detail, but according to one anecdote, which may or may not be true, he said only one thing during the year-long proceedings. Feeling a draught down his back, he asked a nearby usher to close an open window." But there is no other reference in that book to where that came from. Official records of what was and what as not said in Parliament didn't really come into the public until Hansard (circa 1800) there is 'WIlliam COBBETT's parliamentary history of England : from the Norman conquest, in 1066, to the year, 1803' which has been a reference before the 1800's and you can find a copy of that on the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/pp809777_0001/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/pp809777_0001/mode/2up There is one reference to the string 'Newton' in that search but it is just a name of a borough.
- svat 3y ago
  It's apocryphal, found in Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes etc. Levenson's book (which BTW has a lot more of interest beyond whatever I put in the blog post) cites two sources for this point: • Richard Westfall, Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton (1980), p. 483 • A. Rupert Hall, Isaac Newton: Adventurer in Thought (1992), p. 231 I looked up both those books and both of them call it an anecdote. Westfall: > There is no way to pretend that Newton played a leading role in its deliberations. According to a story that rests solely on anecdotal authority , he spoke only once; feeling a draft, he asked an usher to close a window . It is not merely anecdotal that none of the surviving accounts of the Parliament contain any record of his participation in its debates. Only to a limited extent do we know where he stood on the great issues the Convention Parliament decided. Hall: > An anecdote records Newton's only utterance in the House of Commons: feeling a draught, he requested that a window be closed. However, anecdote may be erroneous. Since Newton asked leave to bring in a Bill to confirm the charters and privileges of the University of Cambridge, he must have made some remarks, however terse.

> the only thing ever recorded spoken by him is a request to close the window Does anyone know where I can find this?

by munro 3y ago

> the only thing ever recorded spoken by him is a request to close the window Does anyone know where I can find this?

The Wikipedia entry for Newton mentions this and cites Michael White's book from 1997 - The last sorcerer. In that he states "Newton was an MP for almost exactly one year, but he seems to have contributed nothing personally to the proceedings of the new parliament. He reported back to the Vice-Chancellor faithfully and in minute detail, but according to one anecdote, which may or may not be true, he said only one thing during the year-long proceedings. Feeling a draught down his back, he asked a nearby usher to close an open window." But there is no other reference in that book to where that came from. Official records of what was and what as not said in Parliament didn't really come into the public until Hansard (circa 1800) there is 'WIlliam COBBETT's parliamentary history of England : from the Norman conquest, in 1066, to the year, 1803' which has been a reference before the 1800's and you can find a copy of that on the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/pp809777_0001/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/pp809777_0001/mode/2up There is one reference to the string 'Newton' in that search but it is just a name of a borough.

svat 3y ago
It's apocryphal, found in Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes etc. Levenson's book (which BTW has a lot more of interest beyond whatever I put in the blog post) cites two sources for this point: • Richard Westfall, Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton (1980), p. 483 • A. Rupert Hall, Isaac Newton: Adventurer in Thought (1992), p. 231 I looked up both those books and both of them call it an anecdote. Westfall: > There is no way to pretend that Newton played a leading role in its deliberations. According to a story that rests solely on anecdotal authority , he spoke only once; feeling a draft, he asked an usher to close a window . It is not merely anecdotal that none of the surviving accounts of the Parliament contain any record of his participation in its debates. Only to a limited extent do we know where he stood on the great issues the Convention Parliament decided. Hall: > An anecdote records Newton's only utterance in the House of Commons: feeling a draught, he requested that a window be closed. However, anecdote may be erroneous. Since Newton asked leave to bring in a Bill to confirm the charters and privileges of the University of Cambridge, he must have made some remarks, however terse.