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The Scientific Method was further developed during the Renaissance. Galileo used controlled experiments and analyzed data to prove, or disprove, his theories. The process was later refined by scientists such as Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton.
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Humanism was the major intellectual movement of the Renaissance. In the opinion of the majority of scholars, it began in late-14th-century Italy, came to maturity in the 15th century, and spread to the rest of Europe after the middle of that century.
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Renaissance culture fostered a renewed interest in science, math, philosophy, and art. Interestingly, all of these subjects are combined in linear perspective, which uses geometric lines and a vanishing point to give the illusion of depth and space to painting.
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Johann Gutenberg's invention of movable-type printing quickened the spread of knowledge, discoveries, and literacy in Renaissance Europe. The printing revolution also contributed mightily to the Protestant Reformation that split apart the Catholic Church.
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Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman, de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a magnate, diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists, and poets.
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Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. The Mona Lisa is the most famous of his works and the most famous portrait ever made.
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Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known best as simply Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence, who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.
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Sir Thomas More, venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to May 1532.
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Henry VIII was King of England. He reigned as King from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage annulled.
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John Calvin was a French theologian. He was a pastor and reformer in Geneva. All during the Protestant Reformation.
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The Council of Trent was the formal Roman Catholic reply to the doctrinal challenges of the Protestant Reformation. It served to define Catholic doctrine and made sweeping decrees on self-reform, helping to revitalize the Roman Catholic Church in the face of Protestant expansion.
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Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban, Kt PC QC, also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and as Lord Chancellor of England. His works are credited with developing the scientific method and remained influential through the scientific revolution.
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Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath, from Pisa. Galileo has been called the "father of observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of the scientific method", and the "father of modern science".
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William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".
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Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, and author who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution.