 The original hypotheses about a comet impact that had a widespread effect on human populations can be attributed to Edmond Halley, who in 1694 suggested that a worldwide flood had been the result of a near-miss by a comet.The issue was taken up in more detail by William Whiston, a protegé of and popularizer of the theories of Isaac Newton, who argued in his book "A New Theory of the Earth" (1696) that a comet impact was the probable cause of the Biblical Flood of Noah.Whiston also attributed the origins of the atmosphere and other significant changes in the Earth to the effects of comets.