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Galileo Galilei

Italian polymath (1564-1642) · Italy · Scientists · Died at 77

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He turned a telescope to the sky and saw moons circling Jupiter, phases on Venus, mountains on our own - then spent his last years locked in his house for saying the Earth moves.

ScientistsScientistAstronomyPhilosophyMathematicsPhysicsSciencePolitics

A life in dates

1642Died8 January 16421633“I am certainly interested in a tribunal in which, for having used my reason, I was deemed little less than a heretic.”In their wordsp. 244

1632“If you could see the earth illuminated when you were in a place as dark as night, it would look to you more splendid than the moon.”In their wordsSalviati, p. 88

“Among all the great men who have philosophized about this remarkable effect, I am more astonished at Kepler than at any other.”In their wordsIn regard to Kepler's belief of the moon affecting the tides of the Earth, p. 328

1624“Whence do you have it that the terrestrial globe is so heavy?”In their wordsLetter to Francesco Ingoli (1578-1649), as translated in Galileo at Work: His Scientific Biography (1978) by Stillman Drake, p. 294

1615“Some years ago, as Your Serene Highness well knows, I discovered in the heavens many things that had not been seen before our own age.”In their wordsEssay published in 1615, in response to enquiries of Christina of Tuscany, as quoted in Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and

“To this end they make a shield of their hypocritical zeal for religion. They go about invoking the Bible, which they would have minister to their deceitful purposes.”In their wordsEssay published in 1615, in response to enquiries of Christina of Tuscany, as quoted in Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and

1564Born15 February 1564

Also in Deutsch

Photos 11

Portrait believed to be of Galileo's elder daughter Virginia, who was particularly devoted to her fatherPortrait believed to be of Galileo's elder daughter Virginia, who was particularly devoted to her father"Cannocchiali" telescopes at the Museo Galileo, Florence, suspected to be Galilean telescopes (top: 1610-1630; bottom: 1609-1640)[45]"Cannocchiali" telescopes at the Museo Galileo, Florence, suspected to be Galilean telescopes (top: 1610-1630; bottom: 1609-1640)[45]An illustration of the Moon from Sidereus Nuncius, published in Venice, 1610An illustration of the Moon from Sidereus Nuncius, published in Venice, 1610Map of France presented in 1684, showing the outline of an earlier map (light outline) compared to a new survey conducted using the moons of Jupiter as an accurate timing reference (heavier outline)Map of France presented in 1684, showing the outline of an earlier map (light outline) compared to a new survey conducted using the moons of Jupiter as an accurate timing reference (heavier outline)

In their own words 10

,
Galileo Galilei
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. I am certainly interested in a tribunal in which, for having used my reason, I was deemed little less than a heretic.

    1633, p. 244, Own words

  2. It always seems to me extreme rashness on the part of some when they want to make human abilities the measure of what nature can do.

    1632, Day One, Own words

  3. If you could see the earth illuminated when you were in a place as dark as night, it would look to you more splendid than the moon.

    1632, Salviati, p. 88, Own words

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Awards

International Space Hall of Fame1991

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Galileo Galilei

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About this person

Born in Pisa in 1564, Galileo studied motion, gravity, pendulums, built thermoscopes and military compasses, then improved the telescope and aimed it up. What he saw - Jupiter's four largest moons, Saturn's rings, the stars of the Milky Way, sunspots, lunar craters - fed his support for Copernican heliocentrism, the idea that Earth orbits the sun. The Roman Inquisition investigated in 1615 and declared his views contradicted scripture. In 1632 his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems appeared to mock Pope Urban VIII, alienating both the Pope and the Jesuits who had backed him. The Inquisition tried him, found him "vehemently suspect of heresy", forced a recantation, and placed him under house arrest for the rest of his life. He spent those years writing Two New Sciences, on kinematics and material strength, and died in 1642.

Country
Italy
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1564 to 1642 · aged 77

Scientists from Italy 6

Enrico Fermi82.8Guglielmo Marconi73.2Alessandro Volta72.2Amedeo Avogadro68.9Evangelista Torricelli67.3Primo Levi65.0

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