Newton's magnus opus Principia was printed in a run of only 1000 copies: almost no one in Newton's time understood it, and Newton quarreled publicly with the few who did, including Gottfried Leibniz, who had simultaneously and independently discovered the Calculus. Newton was an obsessive loner who rarely emerged from his room while at Cambridge. He secretly conducted experiments in alchemy, and doubted that Jesus was divine and a part of the Trinity (a heretical viewpoint in his time).

But, by redefining the world as a place where reliable laws of physics, governed by mathematics could be repeatedly observed and verified, Newton set the stage for everything from space probes to global networks. Even Einstein was an outspoken admirer, comprehending the leap Newton had made from a world dominated by alchemy, mysticism and ignorance. I see the first post was popular with regular readers... will have to research some of the candidates...
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