J.+Galileo+Galilei



Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy, on February 15, 1564, the first child of Vincenzio Galilei, a merchant and a musician, and Giulia Ammannati. His first interest was in medicine, which he studied at the University of Pisa. In 1583 Galileo developed new interests and began his studies in mathematics and physics, which ended his medical studies. His new interests were influenced greatly as he made many advances to our previous knowledge of the universe (Encyclopedia of World Biography: Galileo)

Galileo was remembered by many as the one who changed the worlds prospective of our universe, but it all started with his love for mechanical engineering. He applied his skills to a wide range of useful objects for the study of science. Galileo invented the telescope, which proved invaluable for ship navigation. Galileo also invented the thermometer in replace of the popular but inaccurate thermascope. Galileo modernized the device, including a series of numbers on its surface to reflect accurate measurements of temperature. He constructed a hydrostatic balance, which jewelers found useful for weighing the amount of precious metals in their goods. And Galileo hit upon the idea of using the swing of a pendulum to regulate clocks. He made a huge impact on astronomy when he pointed his telescope towards the stars. He discovered four of Jupiter’s satellites and was the first to detect sunspots. He published his views in a book titled The Starry Messenger (1610). Galileo also found and proved with math that the moon was full of mountains and valleys, unlike Aristotle theory of it being a perfect sphere. Galileo’s theory of sunspots that was published in his book The Assayer, led to much controversy in the Catholic Church. He was found guilty of heresy but was luckily only sentenced to a lifetime of house arrest (Essortment.com: The Achievements of Galileo) Eventually, Galileo’s reputation was restored by Pope John Paul II 350 years later as he proclaimed the Church had wrongly accused Galileo of heresy. Galileo Galiei greatly influenced science along with the more specific branch of astronomy with his inventions and discoveries. Though thought to be outrageous by some, Galileo refused to change his theories and it paid off as most of his beliefs were later proven again. His work also became the basis for the theories of the next generation of scientists like Johannes Kepler and Sir Isaac Newton, so you could say Galileo is a part of the line of scientists that have changed the world dramatically through their work.