Polls of British scientists and the public finds that Isaac Newton is more highly esteemed than Albert Einstein as a scientist and human benefactor.

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One survey questioned 350 members of the Royal Society, Britain's leading scientific group, while the other involved 1,000 members of the public, The Scotsman reported. Researchers found that 61.8 percent of the public said Newton was the greater scientist while 38.2 percent chose Einstein; the scientists voted 86.2 percent for Newton and 13.8 percent for Einstein.

On the question of which had done the most for mankind, the public was evenly divided, with 50.1 percent saying Newton and 49.9 percent Einstein. Scientists once again preferred Newton, who got 60.9 percent to 39.1 percent for Einstein.

"Newton essentially started physics," said Tony Weidberg, an Oxford University physicist. He independently developed the maths he needed to uncode the universe. Even after Einstein, his theories still pertain to 99.9 per cent of the things going on in the universe today."