requirements of government or official ideology, Life of Galileo has few equals. In addition to the telescope and his numerous mathematical and scientific discoveries, in 1604 Galileo constructed a hydrostatic balance for measuring small objects. He wrote 'Il Milione,' known in English as 'The Travels of Marco Polo.'. He also discovered Jupiter had revolving moons that didn’t revolve around planet Earth. He also sold a proportional compass, or sector, of his own devising, made by an artisan whom he employed in his house. His writings on criminology and economics were well ahead of their time. The scholars confront Galileo, telling him they subscribe to Aristotle's vision of the universe, but Galileo protests that they are ignoring tangible facts. Early Life Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy where he grew up with his brothers and sisters during the Italian Renaissance. Search all of SparkNotes Search. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. A boy, Andrea, the housekeeper's son, brings in a glass of milk and a roll. It was in Florence that Galileo began his education at the Camaldolese monastery. Galileo Galilei. Life of Galileo is regarded as one of German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s greatest masterpieces. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. His father allowed him to be tutored by the Tuscan court mathematician, Ricci, who designed fortifications, which no doubt impressed Galileo (Reston, page 15). While at Pisa, Galileo was exposed to the Aristotelian view of the world, then the leading scientific authority and the only one sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church. A spot that comes and goes on the Sun would mean that there is change in the heavens. The merchants gave Galileo a salary to manufacture several of them. Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa in the Duchy of Florence, Italy, on February 15, 1564. Read a comprehensive biography of Galileo Galilei’s life, including major events, key people and terms, and important achievements. Galileo worried his daughters would never marry well, and when they were older, had them enter a convent. Omissions? Written in exile in 1937-9 and first performed in Zurich in 1943, Galileo was first staged in English in 1947 by Joseph Losey in a version jointly prepared by Brecht and Charles Laughton, who played the title role. His father was a lutenist, composer, and music theorist by profession. (I am certainly no expert in this complex field of study, and just present a collection of facts below to try to give the flavor of Galileo's life and times.) Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), a discussion among three people: one who supports Copernicus' heliocentric theory of the universe, one who argues against it, and one who is impartial. Although Galileo’s salary was considerably higher there, his responsibilities as the head of the family (his father had died in 1591) meant that he was chronically pressed for money. Life of Galileo by Brecht, Bertolt, 1898-1956. His improvements to the telescope led to advances in the field of astronomy. Galileo then began to prepare himself to teach Aristotelian philosophy and mathematics, and several of his lectures have survived. Galileo was a natural philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who made fundamental contributions to the sciences of motion, astronomy, and strength of materials and to the development of the scientific method. In 1616, Galileo was ordered not to “hold, teach, or defend in any manner” the Copernican theory. He’s talking to Andrea (his housekeeper’s young son), who has just brought him breakfast. The advocate of Aristotelian belief comes across as the simpleton, getting caught in his own arguments. Galileo Galilei was born Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaulti de Galilei on 15 February 1564, in Pisa, Duchy of Florence, to Vincenzo Galilei and Giulia Ammannati. His father was a music teacher and a famous musician. Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher who laid the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities. That same year, he also refined his theories on motion and falling objects, and developed the universal law of acceleration, which all objects in the universe obeyed. Scene 1. However, due to financial difficulties, Galileo left the university in 1585 before earning his degree. One classic is The Crime of Galileo, Giorgio de Santillana, 1955, University of Chicago Press. While there, Galileo conducted his fabled experiments with falling objects and produced his manuscript Du Motu (On Motion), a departure from Aristotelian views about motion and falling objects. Federzoni, the man who helped Galileo construct the telescope, tells the scholars that they ought to be more invested in innovative discoveries. Galileo and his family moved to Florence in 1572. The two hold striking similarities. Unable to satisfy his appetite for scientific investigation, he comes into conflict with the Inquisition and must publicly renounce his theories, though in private he goes on …