Isaac Newton was the first person to grasp the significance of gravity as a universal force. He realised that the same force that caused an apple to fall from a tree caused the planets to orbit the sun. He understood its nature and how it could predict the shapes of the orbits of the planets and how they moved – Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion.
Gravity is a mystery. It obeys the inverse square law just like the electrostatic force does however it cannot be shielded unlike the electrostatic force. Imagine a charged particle. It is attracted to (or repelled by) another charged particle placed in its vicinity. However if a conducting plate is placed in between the two, there will be no influence of one charge on the other extended beyond the conducting plate. However it is impossible to shield gravity in the same way.