Is there known any substantial work that had been done on Gravitation prior to Newton?

Answer 1

Galileo discovered that projectiles follow a parabolic trajectory, and determined that all objects fall at the same rate (neglecting air friction). In so doing, he invented the first mathematically rigorous definition of instantaneous velocity. Prior to this, velocity was defined as a finite distance traveled divided by the time it took (what today would be called average velocity).

Answer 2

Artistotle. Galileo.

Its noteworthy that Newton was the first with a general theory of gravity, which applied in the heavens and on Earth. Before Newton, no one had connected the two "celestial motion" was a problem analyzed on its own, and terrestrial mechanics were considered completely independently.

Its Newton's genius to see wildly different appearing phenomena as manifestations of the same force

Answer 3

Archimedes "give me a place to stand and I shall move the world" 3rd Century BCEArchimedes's methodApparently, Archimedes, whose understanding of such matters as levers and centers of gravity was particularly insightful, was able to envision ways to ...
www.cut-the-From Archimedes to Newton. 1. The Greeks Measure the Universe. 2. Ptolemy and the Dynamics of the ... Basic Calculus: From Archimedes to Newton, 2001, and ...
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knot.org/pythagoras/Archimedes.shtml - 3Results 1 - 10 of about 336,000 for Archimedes and Galileo. (0.15 seconds)

HydrostaticsGalileo fully appreciated how important Archimedes’ Principle was in really understanding falling bodies of different weights, falling through media of ...
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2

Answer 4

Johannes Kepler. "Kepler's laws also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation," from Wikipedia.org.

Galileo, of course.

Answer 5

Galileo.