Not to demean Newton's rightful historical prominence at all, but just out of curiosity I wonder how much Newton's vote total by the Royal Society was enhanced by the fact that he was "one of the hometown boys" -- Newton was a very prominent early member of the Royal Society itself.
Even if the RS members weren't influenced by a fraternal connection to Newton, they'd still have a lot of reverence for Newton instilled into them via the long shadow Newton still casts over the Royal Society, more so than for "intermural" scientists like Einstein, etc.
It would be like an American politician being more prone to vote for Jefferson than for Winston Churchill in some poll of great leaders, just from a greater familiarity and common roots, regardless of their merits relating to the actual poll question.
Not to demean Newton's rightful historical prominence at all, but just out of curiosity I wonder how much Newton's vote total by the Royal Society was enhanced by the fact that he was "one of the hometown boys" -- Newton was a very prominent early member of the Royal Society itself.
Given this, I don't think the result of the poll was ever in question. I doubt if any London bookies would have even given odds.
Good analogy. Still, in a contest between Newton and Einstein, I think a lot of us in the US would vote for Newton.
Foundational work is almost certain to be regarded as more important than that which follows afterward. Not just because it's foundational, but because it was done at a time when it was also pioneering. Einstein came along when universities had physics teachers, there were journals, etc. It was easier for him, and everyone else, to learn the field. But then -- of course -- it takes an "Einstein" to go where Einstein went.
In Newton's time it was far more difficult to be a scientist. For Galileo, it was literally life-threatening to be a scientist.
It's usually the case that the farther back you go, the "greater" the men become, because: (a) their work was more original, groundbreaking, and essential than what came afterward; and (b) their work was often done against a background that was incredibly hostile, when rational thought was not only dangerous, but virtually non-existent.
Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned Aristotle. He'll get my vote. There's not much that's more foundational than logic.