Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564 and was named after his ancestor Galileo Bonaiuti who was a physician, professor, and politician. His parents were Giulia Ammannati and Vincenzo Galilei, a famous lutenist, composer, and music theorist. He was the first born of six children of which three of his five siblings survived infancy. He started his education at the young age of 8 at the Camaldolese Monastery at Vallombrosa, which brought a close connection to the Christian religion.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Galileo became an accomplished lutenist, which later expanded the intellectual catechism of how the world works. Michelangelo, the youngest of his siblings, was also a lutenist but had financial struggles due to promised dowries for his brother- in-law, which Galileo had to help and assist his brother financially. Galileo was strained by financial burdens, but it helped him think of ways to make additional income which brought him to develop ideas of inventions.
The priesthood made a great impression on the young at a young age, Galileo was greatly intrigued in devoting his life to priesthood and even took the time to tell his father about his future endeavors. Unfortunately for young Galileo, stated in an online article, “his father immediately removed Galileo from the monastery, not wanting his son to pursue the unprofitable career of becoming a monk” (Bellis). His father also insisted him to obtain his medical degree from the University of Pisa, which is where he developed and tested theories. This started when he was studying medicine and he noticed a chandelier swinging and compared it with his heartbeat; he noticed that the chandelier swinging in larger or smaller arcs, whether swinging...
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...lman Drake. Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo. Garden City: Doubleday &, 1957. 220-21. Print.
"Newton's First Law of Motion and Galileo's Concept of Inertia." Newton's First Law of Motion. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
Bethune, John Elliot Drinkwater. Life of Galileo Galilei: With Illustrations of the Advancement of Experimental Philosophy. Boston: W. Hyde &, 1832. 217. Print.
"Galileo Galilei." Galileo Galilei. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/galileo.html
McNeese, Tim. Galileo: Renaissance Scientist and Astronomer. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2006. Print
Palmieri, Paolo. Re-examining Galileo's Theory of Tides. [Berlin]: n.p., 1998. Print.
Clutton-Brock, Martin, and David Topper. "The Plausibility Of Galileo's Tidal Theory."
Centaurus 53.3 (2011): 221-235. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.
Science and the church, two things that you would not ordinarily think would go together until until Galileo came along. Galileo, a man that stuck his head out to the world, but especially to the church, when maybe he should have done things a little differently. This particular book shows many accounts of the troubles between Galileo and the church, and with other bystanders. The book goes through the ups and downs of Galileo and the church, the hardships, and friendships that people held, and how hard it was to keep those friendships during the days of Galileo. The book reveals many alliances, and loyalties, but also it also reveals distrust, and clouded minds, of both Galileo and the church.
The book Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel follow the life story of famed scientist, mathematician and philosopher Galileo Galilei and his daughter Virginia Gamba, later renamed Suor Maria Celeste Galilei when she became a nun of the Convent of San Matteo. Throughout Galileo’s life, it had been as a battle between science and religion where Galileo stood in the thin line in between the warring giants. Religion shorted the range of influence of science by professing heresy towards the few that stood up. Galileo, being a devout Christian, had to choose carefully or risk not only reputation loss but also torture and a ban from ever publishing a book again. However, the pull of scientific discovery for Galileo forced this type of decisions continuously. Galileo’s faith changed every discovery put to paper by him in not so subtle ways.
Galileo’s contributions to the science of Physics and Astronomy were many. His conviction was legendary. His willingness to suffer for his beliefs exemplify true courage in the name of truth, and has inspired others to venture intellectual independence from the Church‘s creeds, edicts, and proclamations. Perhaps these contributions led to the call for an investigation into Galileo's conviction, eventually calling for its reversal, in 1979 by Pope John Paul II. But regardless of his standing in the annals of the Catholic church he will always be the man who began the separation of science and religion.
In the history of the Catholic Church, no episode is so contested by so many viewpoints as the condemnation of Galileo. The Galileo case, for many, proves the Church abhors science, refuses to abandon outdated teachings, and is clearly not infallible. For staunch Catholics the episode is often a source of embarrassment and frustration. Either way it is undeniable that Galileo’s life sparked a definite change in scientific thought all across Europe and symbolised the struggle between science and the Catholic Church.
Galileo's life. Galileo remained a good friend of the Grand Duke as well. In the summer of 16...
Ball, Rouse. “Sir Isaac Newton.” A Short Account of the History of Mathematics. 4th ed. Print.
What is there to know about the three laws of motion? The three laws of motion are only one of the countless things formulated or developed by the astounding seventeenth century physicist and mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac Newton is considered one of the pioneers for the ever growing world of physics. Newton was the metaphorical outline for numerous brilliant physicists such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Richard Feynman, and Erwin Schrödinger. Many of those names may be much more familiar than that of Isaac Newton, but in the science world, Newton is a beloved figure since a vast number of rules and theories were derived from him. Newton’s rules and theories still hold true today, just like with his three laws of motion. One of Newtons many clever quotes or sayings is, “Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.” Because Newton lived by this saying his entire life, he was a successful physicist who is still important in todays world. Even though Newton was a powerful mind in the science world, he was also an astute mathematician, making breakthroughs in the mathematical world as well.
In his Letter to The Grand Duchess Christina, Galileo challenged the widely accepted religious beliefs of the time, claiming that the conflict lies in their interpretation, not the context. In Galileo’s eyes science was an extremely useful tool that could and should have been used in interpreting the Scriptures. He argued that “the intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven not how heaven goes” (Grand Duchess). The purpose of science was not to counter what the bible teaches; rather its purpose was to help explain the teachings of the scriptures. Furthermore, it was “prudent to affirm that the holy Bible can never speak untruth-whenever its true meaning is understood” (Grand Duchess). However, because of the terminology in which the bible was presented the perception of what the Scripture defined as truth was skewed. The Bible was written so that the common man could understand it and follow its commandments. The people also showed a greater inte...
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Tuscany. His dad was Lodovico di Buonarrotto and his mother was Fracessca Neri. Michelangelo was also the second of five brothers. His mother was not capable of raising Michelangelo so his dad let a stonecutter’s wife raise him. Sadly, Michelangelo’s mom died when he was six (Bonner Par. 1-13).
Waldstreicher, David . A Companion to Benjamin Franklin. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. http://www.usf.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=697791 (accessed November 21, 2013).
Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist, often referred to as “the father of modern physics”. He was one of the inventors of the telescope and a strong proponent of Copernicanism. Galileo used his invention to make astronomical observations which supported Copernicus’ heliocentric model of the universe. These discoveries led to a fierce dispute, because they contradicted the theory which was prevalent at the time – that the universe followed a geocentric model, a theory, which had been accepted by the Catholic Church. To address this dispute, Galileo wrote a letter to Tuscany’s Grand Duchess Christina, in which he presented his position on the relation between science and religion, stating that the Bible does not contradict science.
Galileo was the first of six children born to Vincenzo Galilei, who was musician and music theorist. In 1583, Galileo entered the University of Pisa to study medicine.
Have you ever wondered who discovered that the sun is the center of our universe? If so, the answer is Nicolai Copernicus. This man was a well-respected as well as well educated man. He explored many different subjects including mathematics, medicine, canon law, and his favorite astronomy. The Earth-centered universe of Aristotle and Ptolemy were Western thinking for almost 2000 years until the 16th century when Copernicus proposed his theory.
adversary. One must learn from Galileo's life that sacrifice in the way of progression of
When his father died in 1591 Galileo had to support his family. He looked for a job that paid more, and became professor of mathematics at the University of Padua where he stayed for eighteen years. He became very interested in astronomy at that time partly because of the discovery of a new star in 1604. (This turned out to be an exploding sun called a supernova). During these years he did more work on his theories of falling bodies, inclined planes and how projectiles travel. This work is still used today, for example in ballistics where computers can predict the path of a shell based on Galileo’s work.