Galileo Galilei
1564 – 1642 Italian astronomer, physicist
The father of modern science, who turned the telescope to the heavens.
- Religion
- Catholic and personally devout, yet condemned by the Inquisition for defending the Sun-centered cosmos and spent his last years under house arrest.
- Affiliations
- Member of the Accademia dei Lincei. No secret society.
Galileo used the telescope to find craters on the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, and the phases of Venus, all backing Copernicus. He joined mathematics to experiment in the study of motion, founding modern physics. His trial by the Inquisition became a symbol of science against dogma.
Connections
- associate of Johannes Kepler — They corresponded as allies of the Copernican cause.
- influenced Nicolaus Copernicus — Galileo's telescope gathered evidence for the Copernican system.
- rival of Urban VIII (pope) — His court tried and condemned Galileo in 1633.
In the timeline
- 1542 Roman Inquisition established mentioned
- 1633 The Galileo affair mentioned