As a professor at Cambridge, his lectures were poorly attended

Newton, who was 26 at the time, was appointed Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge, one of the world's oldest institutions, which dates back to 1209. (Newton was the second person to occupy the Lucasian professorship; the 17th was scientist and "A Brief History of Time" author Stephen Hawking, who held it from 1979 to 2009.)

Despite staying at Cambridge for nearly 30 years, Newton displayed little interest in teaching or in his students, and his lectures were rarely attended; on occasion, no one showed up at all. Newton was preoccupied with his own studies.