Very true. Newton was an alchemist first and foremost and spent the vast majority of his time practicing alchemy rather than -what today one would call- science. One has to wonder what private reasons/results a genius of his magnitude had, in order to do that.

This little known fact is so embarrassing to some institutions [2], that they made up a new word "chymistry" in order to further obscure the issue and not outright admit the obvious.

[1] http://www.newtonproject.ox.ac.uk/texts/newtons-works/alchem...

[2] https://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/project/about.do

[3] https://www.amazon.com/Newton-Alchemist-Science-Enigma-Natur...