Easy to dismiss genius as 'obvious', don't err too far on that side! Newton was certainly the greatest Scientist in a couple of centuries, instrumental in advancing three areas of Science. Not single-handedly certainly but nothing we ever do works that way.
Hooke, btw, was an enemy of Newton. Hooke would publish books of drivel about 'what if' physics worked by a certain equation; Newton derived why physics Must work a certain way. 'Hookes Law' of springs should be another of Newton's laws, but Hooke had actually written down that spring law with no proof and no motivation, but nevertheless published first. Newton argued (correctly) why springs worked that way. So a basic rule of physics has the name of someone who did no physics.
I do not deny his genius, but popular accounts of scientific work certainly tend to overemphasize individual contributions and downplay the overall incremental progress a generation of scientists of various statue can make. It has the practical effect of discouraging young people from doing actual scientific work on small, particular results, instead they feel they should immediately have an idea for a grand theory of everything.
Hooke, btw, was an enemy of Newton. Hooke would publish books of drivel about 'what if' physics worked by a certain equation; Newton derived why physics Must work a certain way. 'Hookes Law' of springs should be another of Newton's laws, but Hooke had actually written down that spring law with no proof and no motivation, but nevertheless published first. Newton argued (correctly) why springs worked that way. So a basic rule of physics has the name of someone who did no physics.
Or so the story goes.