The spread of the Scientific Revolution involved the contributions of a large number of individuals, spread all over Europe. You should get a sense of the kinds of people involved, and the sorts of contributions they represent, by exploring the biographical information available in a widerange of sites.
You should start by reading the brief biographical sketch of Newton by A. Rupert Hall, written for Microsoft's Encarta.
From there, you should go to the Newton Institute site, which will direct you to a variety of on-line resources. Explore some of these, paying particular attention to information about how Newton's work transformed the basic assumption of science and the social status of science in his time.
The Galileo Project contains information on a variety of major figures. You should start with the version of Westfall's short biography there (compare it with the first version--which do you prefer?), and then explore other figures of the late Scientific Revolution. You can start with the searchable index, or go straight to some of the more obvious people:
Other Newton sites include:
Also take a look at the two additional biographical sketches of these major figures:
After you have explored some of these sites, and believe you have a better grasp of the contributions of one or two of these figures, be prepared to discuss how the world view that was becoming general among educated people in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century differed from the prevailing world view a century earlier. What were the two or three most important differences, and what were the implications for society and for technology?
