Write the Principia, define the laws of motion, invent calculus, invent the Newtonian telescope, figure out gravity, and on and on.
What a showoff.
(P.S. An American poll would have probably named Bill Nye as history's greatest scientist.)
Did Newton invent calculus? Don't think so.
What ever happened to Newtonian physics, though?
Yeah, Bill Nye, the Science Guy!
Back when I was a kid they would have selected Professor Irwin Corey.
Or Carl Sagan. These kinds of comparisons are invidious. I think a fair characterization was that Newton's discoveries were more revolutionary, Einstein's more subtle.
It is far too much to credit Newton with the invention of the scientific method. Rather, I think he can be credited as the most important pioneer in the invention of analytic physics, the application of mathematical technique to the solution of physical problems. It needs to be noted, however, that Newtonian mechanics are incomplete, especially in that it is impossible to define a meaningful inertial or rest reference frame. By showing that Kepler's Laws could be explained by a few simple axioms that could be applied to a great many other physical problems as well, he forever changed the way physicists looked at the world.
Einstein was able to apply simple insights brilliantly to arrive at consistent results. If ones results are internally consistent, they may even bear on the real world. His first such insight was that all inertial frames are equivalent. With this simple assumption, he could explain the Michealson-Morely results and establish the equivalence of matter and energy. (E=mc2, because it only makes sense!)