Sir Isaac Newton is the famous scientist credited with formulating the laws of motion and universal gravitation in the late 17th century. His groundbreaking work, particularly in the "Principia Mathematica," laid the foundation for classical mechanics. The three laws of motion describe the relationship between a body and the forces acting upon it, while his law of universal gravitation mathematically expressed that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe. Newton's discoveries revolutionized physics and provided a framework for understanding the motion of objects on Earth and in space, influencing scientific thought for centuries.