Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Latin for Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) is often simply referred to as Principia. This work in three books, written by Isaac Newton in Latin was first published on 5 July 1687. In retrospect, its publication was a landmark event in the development of modern physics and astronomy.

Newton published two more editions in 1713 and 1726 after annotating and correcting his personal copy of the first edition. Principia contains the laws of motion, law of universal gravitation and a derivation of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion (Kepler originally obtained these empirically). The work also forms the foundation of classical mechanics. Principia is considered as one of the most important works in the history of science.

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