Is Newton's famous apple tree still growing?
On January 4th 2010, Google celebrated the birth of the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton with a special logo of an apple dropping from a tree, recreating the event which it is said was the inspiration for him to develop his theory of gravity. Is the tree or its descendants still growing today?
The apple tree is said to have stood in the grounds of his family home at Woolsthorpe Manor, Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Lincolnshire. The property is now owned by the National Trust and they invite visitors to see "the apple tree that inspired Newton to discover gravity", and that the tree was "a rare variety Flower of Kent, [it] fell over in 1820 but is still growing well having rooted where the trunk touched the ground." nationaltrust.org.uk
On January 4th 2010, Google celebrated the birth of the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton with a special logo of an apple dropping from a tree, recreating the event which it is said was the inspiration for him to develop his theory of gravity. Is the tree or its descendants still growing today?
The apple tree is said to have stood in the grounds of his family home at Woolsthorpe Manor, Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Lincolnshire. The property is now owned by the National Trust and they invite visitors to see "the apple tree that inspired Newton to discover gravity", and that the tree was "a rare variety Flower of Kent, [it] fell over in 1820 but is still growing well having rooted where the trunk touched the ground." nationaltrust.org.uk
However, this it contradicted by Sir David Brewster, in his Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton. In a footnote he writes,
"We saw the apple-tree in 1814, and brought away a portion of one of its roots. The tree was so much decayed that it was taken down in 1820, and the wood of it carefully preserved by Mr. Tumor of Stoke Rocheford.
Tumor is probably a mistake and should be Turnor. Edmond Turnor acquired the property from Newton and it remained in the family's possession until 1942.
The situation is further confused by the following accounts:
In 1939 The Times newspaper reported that the Lord Mayor of London on a official visit to Canada, presented Stanley Park, Vancouver, with plants of ivy and soil from Woolsthorpe Manor. The ivy was chosen because "there exists no authentic scion of the apple tree in the Orchard at Woolsthorpe, though there is one in the neighbourhood." [1]
In 1942 when the Turnor's disposed of the property, a different story was told to visitors to the property. The Times newspaper reported that they were told that the "old, recumbent apple tree" in the garden was "descended by direct grafting from that which Newton saw." [2]
While in 1943 when it was transferred to the guardianship of the National Trust, The Times reported that the orchard contained "a direct descendant of the famous tree". [3]
There is a apple tree at Trinity College, Cambridge, and also a tree at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, both of which are reported to be a descendants of the tree that inspired Newton for they were taken from the still existing tree at Woolsthorpe. But if the above research is correct, the descent is questionable.
I could find no information supporting the claim made by Wikipedia that the original tree was taken to The King's School, Grantham.
There are now many other 'descendants' of tree across the world originating from the present Woolsthorpe tree.
[1] The Times, Friday, August 21 1936
[2] The Times, Tuesday, December 01 1942
[3] The Times, Wednesday, June 09 1943
"We saw the apple-tree in 1814, and brought away a portion of one of its roots. The tree was so much decayed that it was taken down in 1820, and the wood of it carefully preserved by Mr. Tumor of Stoke Rocheford.
Tumor is probably a mistake and should be Turnor. Edmond Turnor acquired the property from Newton and it remained in the family's possession until 1942.
The situation is further confused by the following accounts:
In 1939 The Times newspaper reported that the Lord Mayor of London on a official visit to Canada, presented Stanley Park, Vancouver, with plants of ivy and soil from Woolsthorpe Manor. The ivy was chosen because "there exists no authentic scion of the apple tree in the Orchard at Woolsthorpe, though there is one in the neighbourhood." [1]
In 1942 when the Turnor's disposed of the property, a different story was told to visitors to the property. The Times newspaper reported that they were told that the "old, recumbent apple tree" in the garden was "descended by direct grafting from that which Newton saw." [2]
While in 1943 when it was transferred to the guardianship of the National Trust, The Times reported that the orchard contained "a direct descendant of the famous tree". [3]
There is a apple tree at Trinity College, Cambridge, and also a tree at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, both of which are reported to be a descendants of the tree that inspired Newton for they were taken from the still existing tree at Woolsthorpe. But if the above research is correct, the descent is questionable.
I could find no information supporting the claim made by Wikipedia that the original tree was taken to The King's School, Grantham.
There are now many other 'descendants' of tree across the world originating from the present Woolsthorpe tree.
[1] The Times, Friday, August 21 1936
[2] The Times, Tuesday, December 01 1942
[3] The Times, Wednesday, June 09 1943
