Who proposed the law of universal gravitation?

The law of universal gravitation was proposed by Isaac Newton in the late 17th century. Newton's formulation provided a comprehensive explanation for the force of attraction between two masses, detailing how every mass attracts every other mass in the universe with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. This principle is foundational in the field of physics and paved the way for the understanding of gravitational effects both on Earth and in the cosmos.

While Albert Einstein made significant contributions to our understanding of gravity with his general theory of relativity, his work built upon Newton's earlier ideas rather than replacing them entirely. Galileo Galilei conducted crucial experiments on motion and gravity, but he did not formulate a universal law of gravitation. Michael Faraday is renowned for his work in electromagnetism and electrochemistry, not for gravity. Therefore, Isaac Newton is the correct individual associated with the law of universal gravitation.