Astronomer, Physicist & Engineer · Italian · b. February 15, 1564 · d. January 8, 1642
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei, commonly referred to as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath, from Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence. Galileo has been called the 'father of observational astronomy', the 'father of modern physics', the 'father of the scientific method', and the 'father of modern science'. Galileo studied speed and velocity, gravity and free fall, the principle of relativity, inertia, projectile motion and also worked in applied science and technology, describing the properties of pendulums and 'hydrostatic balances'. He invented the thermoscope and various military compasses, and used the telescope for scientific observations of celestial objects. With a telescope, he observed the phases of Venus, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, Saturn's rings, lunar craters, and sunspots. His advocacy of Copernican heliocentrism was met with opposition from the Catholic Church, and in 1633 the Roman Inquisition tried him, found him 'vehemently suspect of heresy', and sentenced him to indefinite imprisonment, later commuted to house arrest, where he remained until his death in 1642.
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