Catherine Barton (1679–1739) was an English homemaker who oversaw the running of her uncle, scientist Isaac Newton's, household. She was reputed to be the source of the story of the apple inspiring Newton's work on gravity, and his papers came to her on his death. She was rumoured to have been the mistress of the poet and statesman Charles Montagu and later married politician

John Conduitt John Conduitt (; c. 8 March 1688 – 23 May 1737), of Cranbury Park, Hampshire, was a British landowner and Whig politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1737. He was married to the half-niece of Sir Isaac Newton, whom Conduitt s ...

Early life

Barton was the second daughter of Robert Barton and his second wife, Hannah Smith, half-sister of Isaac Newton. She was baptized at Brigstock,

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

on 25 November 1679.

Barton's social circle

Barton was remarked upon by several men to be beautiful, witty and clever. She was known as a brilliant conversationalist, and attracted the admiration of such famous figures as Jonathan Swift and Voltaire. Her uncle was also fond of her; an excerpt of an uncharacteristically warm letter from Newton survives, regarding her contraction of smallpox: "Pray let me know by your next how your face is and if your fevour be going. Perhaps warm milk from ye Cow may help to abate it. I am Your loving Unkle, Is. Newton." Sometime after her uncle Newton moved to London to become Warden of the Mint in April 1696 she moved there to live with him. Barton was said to have been the source of the story about Newton and the apple, as she told the story to Voltaire who later wrote about it in his ''Essay on Epic Poetry'' of 1727. Voltaire also insinuated that Newton's preferment to the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...

was the result of Barton's alleged affair with Charles Montagu. However, although it is true that Isaac was appointed under the patronage of Charles Montagu, the claim that this was due to Barton's influence is dubious: Catherine Barton came up to London and met Montagu after the appointment, not before.

Relationship to Charles Montagu

Barton became the housekeeper to Charles Montagu following the death of his wife in 1698. There was much contemporary gossip about their relationship being sexual, and thinly disguised accusations appeared in print.

Delariviere Manley Delarivier "Delia" Manley (1663 or c. 1670 – 24 July 1724) was an English author, playwright, and political pamphleteer. Manley is sometimes referred to, with Aphra Behn and Eliza Haywood, as one of "the fair triumvirate of wit", which is a la ...

's ''

Memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

'' of 1710 featured a character called Bartica who was widely taken to represent Barton. Montagu, by then Earl of Halifax, died of an inflammation of the lungs in May 1715. His will contained two codicils: the first dated 12 April 1706, left the sum of £3000 and all his jewels to Barton; a second dated 1 February 1713 left her an additional £5000 plus his interest in the rangership of

Bushey Park Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow ...

and his manor of Apscourt in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

to pay for the repairs to Bushey Lodge. On 30 August, however, he revoked the first codicil and begged his executor, his nephew George Montagu, not to make a dispute over her legacies. Montagu wrote that these bequests were "as a token of the sincere love, affection and esteem, I have long had for her person, and as a small recompense for the pleasure and happiness I have had in her conversation". Halifax's official life defended Barton against accusations that she might have been sexually involved with him, stating:

as this Lady was young, beautiful and gay, so those that were given to censure, pass'd a Judgment upon her which she no Ways merited, since she was a Woman of strict Honour and Virtue; and tho' she might be agreeable to his Lordship in every Particular, that noble Peer's Complaisance to her, proceeded wholly from the great Esteem he had for her Wit and most exquisite Understanding.

Based on the generosity of the bequest, astronomer John Flamsteed wrote, apparently sarcastically and spitefully, that Barton must have "''excellent conversation''".

Marriage

Barton then returned to live with her uncle at his home in St Martin's Street. On 9 July 1717 she became engaged to marry

who had arrived in England a few weeks earlier in May of that year. On 23 August they were issued a licence to marry at St Paul's Covent Garden, but actually married three days later at St Martin in the Fields. Barton had one daughter with Conduitt, Catherine, who was born in 1721.

Later life

Barton lived with Conduitt at Cranbury Park, near

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

. She took in Newton towards the end of his life, and he resided with her until his death in 1727. After Newton's death, his papers were in Barton's care and then passed down through her family until 1936 when they were auctioned at Sotheby's. Conduitt died on 23 May 1737; Catherine died in 1739 and was buried with her uncle and husband in Westminster Abbey. Their only daughter and heir, Catherine, married John Wallop, Viscount Lymington, the eldest son of the first Earl of Portsmouth, and their son, John Wallop, succeeded as second Earl of Portsmouth.The current one possesses the famou
''Isaac Newton'' portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller
1689.

In fiction

A fictional Barton has a small role in

Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work exp ...

's novel ''

The System of the World ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', the final installment in Stephenson's ''

Baroque Cycle ''The Baroque Cycle'' is a series of novels by American writer Neal Stephenson. It was published in three volumes containing eight books in 2003 and 2004. The story follows the adventures of a sizable cast of characters living amidst some of th ...

''. She also has a role in Philip Kerr's novel ''Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton''.