Who discovered gravity?

Sir Isaac Newton is credited with the discovery of the law of universal gravitation in the late 17th century. He formulated this law after observing that the force of gravity governs the motion of objects both on Earth and in space. His work was revolutionary, as it explained not only how objects fall to the ground but also how celestial bodies, like planets and moons, interact with one another.

Newton's famous anecdote about an apple falling from a tree symbolizes his inspiration to study gravity. He concluded that the same force that caused the apple to fall toward the Earth also governed the motion of celestial bodies. This realization led him to develop the law of universal gravitation, which states that each particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

The contributions of other figures, like Albert Einstein, Galileo Galilei, and Nikola Tesla, were significant in their own right. However, their work focused on other aspects of physics or advanced our understanding in different areas. Therefore, Newton's groundbreaking formulation solidified his place as the discoverer of gravity.