Galileo Galilei was a native of Italy. He was a mathematician, physicist and astronomer who is considered the father of modern science. His support for the heliocentric model of the universe, which had been developed by Copernicus led to him being placed under house arrest in 1633.
Galileo Galilei was born in 1564 in Pisa, Italy. He moved with his family to Florence when he was eight years old. At the age of 18 he entered the University of Pisa to study medicine but turned his attention to the study of physics and mathematics. He later taught mathematics at the University of Pisa before moving to the University of Padua in 1592.
At Padua Galileo taught mathematics and astronomy for eighteen years. During this time he made several discoveries and invented an improved telescope. His studies led him to support the model developed by Copernicus, which placed the sun rather than the earth at the centre of the solar system. This brought him into conflict with the Catholic Church. A church inquisition pronounced the theory heretical.
Galileo however continued with his studies and in 1632 he published ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems’. He was summoned to Rome to appear before an inquisition once more. This time he was convicted of heresy. He spent the remainder of his life under house arrest. Galileo died in Florence on January 8th 1642. In 1992 Pope John Paul II expressed regret at how Galileo had been treated.
Galileo Galilei, mathematician, physicist and astronomer who is considered the father of modern science, was born Pisa, Italy in the year 1564 On This Day.
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