Galileo was an astronomer and scientist during the Italian renaissance period. He pioneered the scientific revolution that flowered in the work of Isaac Newton. Galileo's main contributions to astronomy were:
In physics he discovered the laws of falling objects or projectiles and bodies.
In the history books, Galileo stands as a symbol of the battle against authority for freedom and the right to express himself.
Galileo Galilei was born near Pisa on February 15th 1564. His father was a famous musician. Galileo was taught by monks and later entered the university in Pisa in 1580 to study medicine. Although this subject didn't suit him it gave him a good introduction to Aristotelian Physics.
The key to Galileo's physics lay in mathematics. Although he was still studying medicine he was spending increasing amounts of time in extra curricular maths lectures. This was with the help of the university mathematician Ostillo Ricci.
Galileo eventually decided to leave the university without a degree or any qualifications. For a time he tutored privately and wrote on hydrostatics, but he didn't publish anything. In 1589 he became a professor of mathematics at the University of Pisa.
The most celebrated story is of Galileo dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to assembled professors, demonstrating that Aristotle was fundamentally mistaken about the laws of motion. This story comes from Aristotle's biographer.
Galileo did not actually invent the telescope - he merely improved its magnification.
Galileo wrote many books about his theories and ideas. His books were nearly all written in Italian as his first book, which was in Latin, was rubbished and scorned by different professors, so instead he decided to try and teach the lesser educated people in Italy. Galileo was always short of money and had to put both of his girls into a convent.
One of his most famous inventions was the proportional compass. This combined the functions of a compass with a calculating instrument. This instrument was in great demand as it was very useful in military engineering.
Todd Leckie
December 7, 1999.
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