The Father Of Modern Science

2 Pages 593 Words

Galileo Galilei was born on about February 1564 in Pisa. Galileo’s father was an extremely talented musician who wanted his son to become a doctor, but chose a different field of study, science. Galileo was a gifted mathematician and became a chair man of mathematics at Pisa when he was only 25 years old.

Galileo never got married but he had three children: two daughters- Virginia and Livia and one son- Vincenzo. Although Galileo was married to his science he still loved his children just as much. Galileo loved them so much that he took them with him when he moved to Florence and left his girl friend, moving on to the position of “chief mathematician and philosopher”. Galileo didn’t have enough financial support to keep his daughters so he sent them off to a convent. Virginia changed her name to Suor Marie Celeste and was said to be the closest one to his heart. This is said because of extensive letters written by her to Galileo, in these she shows her love and devotion. Galileo’s son amazingly became a lawyer and helped take care of his father as he got older. In Galileo’s old age he was under house arrest by the Catholic Church tribunal that existed to protect the church from heresy.

During the sixteenth century and into the seventeenth century the church was undergoing a battle for survival. The tribunal brought a charge of heresy against Galileo for his teaching that the earth revolved around the sun and that the sun, not the earth was the center of the universe. This is the statement of Copernicus from one hundred years prior. His teaching had been condemned by the church because they didn’t want the people to think for themselves. Which the church was afraid that they might interpret the scriptures the way the people wanted to, and the church wanted them to believe what they told them to believe. Therefore Galileo had to be stopped at all costs.

Up to Galileo’s time science was a philosophical and mathe...