The discovery of gravity is primarily credited to Sir Isaac Newton. He formulated the law of universal gravitation, which describes how every mass exerts an attractive force on every other mass. Newton developed his theory in the late 17th century, famously inspired by the story of an apple falling from a tree, which led him to consider the force that pulls objects toward the Earth and extends to celestial bodies as well
. Newton's work culminated in his 1687 publication, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica , where he stated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, unifying terrestrial and celestial mechanics under one theory. His law mathematically described gravity as a force proportional to the product of two masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers
. While Newton is credited with the discovery and formulation of gravitational theory, earlier thinkers like Galileo Galilei contributed by studying falling bodies and acceleration, and Robert Hooke proposed ideas related to orbital motion and gravitational attraction before Newton's formalization. However, Newton's comprehensive mathematical description and synthesis of these ideas established the foundation of classical gravity
. In summary, Isaac Newton discovered and formulated the law of gravity, building on earlier insights but providing the first complete and rigorous scientific explanation of gravitational force.
