Fact Finder - History

Galileo Galilei was an Italian polymath whose improvements to the telescope revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos. In 1610, he discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter (the Galilean moons), observed the phases of Venus, and identified sunspots, all of which provided evidence that the Earth was not the center of the universe. His support for the Copernican heliocentric theory (that the Earth revolves around the Sun) brought him into direct conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. In 1633, he was tried by the Inquisition, forced to recant his views, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. Despite this, he continued his work on kinematics and the strength of materials, laying the groundwork for classical mechanics. Legend says that as he left the courtroom, he muttered, 'E pur si muove' ('And yet it moves'), a defiant statement that truth remains true regardless of official dogma.