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May 1, 1473
Nicolaus Copernicus
Copernicus was born in 1473 and later in his life, proposed one of the most universal ideas of his time. Nicolaus Copernicus propsed the theory that the sun is in the center of the universe and not the Earth (also known as the heliocentric universe idea). Between 1510 and 1514, he wrote an essay called Commentariolus that stated all of his new ideas about the universe's heliocentricity. -
May 1, 1546
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe was born in 1546 and then became intereseted in astronomy and started to question the law. He observed Jupiter and Saturn very close together and created an observatory. He wrote a book called De Nova Stella that described the formation of a nova, or new star, being born as a result of a supernova explosion in the universe. -
May 1, 1564
Galileo Galilei
Galileo was born in 1564 and went on to later become a geat mathematician and scientist. Galileo Galilei confirmed Copernicus's theory of the sun being the center of orbit in the solar system. Since the Church thought the Earth was at the center of the universe, then he was challenging the church. Galileo also discovered the telescope in 1609- this helped him to promote Copernicus's theory once and for all. He also wrote Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. -
May 1, 1571
Johann Kepler
Kepler was born in 1571 as a premature, sickly child. But, he went on to discover that planets orbit in no perfect circles, as many people thought up until this point. He instead proposed the idea that planets orbit in elipses and not perfect circles. He wrote the book Epitome astronomiae Copernicanae that was Kepler's attempt at writing an astronomy textbook. -
Rene Descartes
Descartes was born in 1596 and continued his life to become a very important philosopher and mathematician. Rene was interested in the philosophy behind science and math. He is known as the "Father of Modern Philosophy" because he was so interested in philosophy during his lifetime. His main work was Discourse on the Method, which featured many of his essays such as Meditations on First Philosophy. He wrote his essays in different languages. He was a very strong believer in the existance of God. -
Isaac Newton
In 1642 Newton was born and went on to become a majorly important role in science and mathematics. Sir Isaac Newton proposed the ideas/ theories of gravity, calculus, and the 3 laws of relativity. It is rumored that Newton saw an apple fall and assumed that there was a force that caused the apple to fall and affects all of the planets. His most famous work is called The Principia. -
William Harvey
In 1651, William Harvey wrote his second ground-breaking book called Essays on the Generation of Animals that is considered the basis for modern embryology. Harvey proposed the idea that blood pumps from the heart then travels through the rest of the body and then returns to the heart to recirculate.
