At the very end of his life, Newton told a story which has become one of the most enduring legends in the history of science.
Dining with fellow Royal Society member William Stukeley, Newton remembered that he had been sitting beneath an apple tree at his family home of Woolsthorpe, and a falling apple had prompted him to think about gravity. The story was also told by other people who knew Newton, including his niece Catherine who cared for him in his later years. However, the myth that Newton was hit on the head by the apple was a later invention.