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1543
Nicolaus Copernicus
He was the first European scientist to propose that Earth and other planets revolve around the sun, the heliocentric theory of the solar system. Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who put forth the theory that the Sun is at rest near the center of the Universe, and that the Earth, spinning on its axis once daily, revolves annually around the Sun. This is called the heliocentric, or Sun-centered, system. -
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon is most famous for his philosophy of science. He argued that scientific knowledge is obtained after making observations and then utilizing inductive reasoning to interpret the observations. Bacon also argued that controlled scientific experimentation is essential for understanding nature. -
Galileo Galilei
Jupiter's Moons
Peering through his newly-improved 20-power homemade telescope at the planet Jupiter in Jan. 7, 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei noticed three other points of light near the planet, at first believing them to be distant stars. -
Rene Descartes
Descartes has been heralded as the first modern philosopher. He is famous for having made an important connection between geometry and algebra, which allowed for the solving of geometrical problems by way of algebraic equations. -
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton (1642–1727) is best known for having invented the calculus in the mid to late 1660s (most of a decade before Leibniz did so independently, and ultimately more influentially) and for having formulated the theory of universal gravity — the latter in his Principia. -
John Locke
He is often regarded as the founder of a school of thought known as British Empiricism, and he made foundational contributions to modern theories of limited, liberal government. He was also influential in the areas of theology, religious toleration, and educational theory. -
Montesquieu
French political philosopher Montesquieu was best known for The Spirit of Laws (1748), one of the great works in the history of political theory and of jurisprudence. -
Voltaire
His most famous works included the fictitious Lettres philosophiques (1734) and the satirical novel Candide (1759). The former—a series of essays on English government and society—was a landmark in the history of thought. Today it is considered one of the great monuments of French literature. -
Hindusim
Three beliefs or values:
a belief in many gods.
a preference for one deity while not excluding or disbelieving others.
a belief in the universal law of cause and effect and reincarnation.
Where it started: Indus River Valley Famous priests or prophets: Moses was Krishna (1500BC) -
Buddhism
Three beliefs or values : Love, wisdom, goodness. Where it started : India Famous priests or prophets : Siddhartha Gautama