Background | galileo-galilei

Born on February 15th, 1564
Pisa, Italy
Died on the 8th of January, 1642
He was the first of six children in his family
His father, Vincenzo Galilei was a musician and a scholar
His mother was Giulia Ammannati
In 1581, Galileo studied medicine at the University of Pisa
Soon, he became more interested in mathematics
In 1583, he made his first discovery, describing the rules that govern the motion of pendulums
In 1585, he left the University of Pisa due to the financial concerns
In 1589, Galileo was selected for the chair of mathematics in Pisa
Later, in 1592, he was chosen for the position of a mathematician at the University of Padua
There, he met Marina Gamba, with who he had three children: two daughters, Virginia and Livia, and one son, Vincenzo
Galileo was a groundbreaking astronomer, physicist, mathematician, philosopher, and inventor

Galileo Galilei

Copernicus greatly influenced Galileo
He proposed heliocentric theory, stating that the sun is the center of the universe and that all planets, including the Earth, rotate around the sun
The Catholic Church opposed that theory, however, Galileo believed that it's true and attempted to prove it
Galileo's father, Vincenzo Galilei also inspired him
When Galileo was a child, his father did a lot of experiments with him, which made him interested in science
Aristotle influenced Galileo by his theory, that states, things beyond the earth were perfect, such as the moon, with its smooth surface
Galileo did not believe so and decided to prove that the moon has uneven surface with his newly renovated telescope

The Heliocentric Theory

Galileo looking through his improved telescope

Galileo mostly worked alone
He either improved on other people’s inventions (such as the telescope. The technology involved with it was patented in 1608 by Hans Lippershey)
Or critiqued/praised other people’s works (like in his book, where he praised Copernicus and fiercely criticized Aristotelian theories)

Hans Lippershey