-
Period: Nov 13, 1473 to Nov 13, 1543
Nicolas Copernicus
He was a Renaissance astronomer who pioneered the idea that the Earth revolved around the Sun; a heliocentric solar system. in his book "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) he outlined his theory and his evidence, though chose not to publish it until just before his death for fear of the Church's anger. -
Period: Dec 31, 1514 to Oct 15, 1564
Andreas Vesalius
Vesalius was a Felmish anatomist, physcisan, and author of one of the most influential medical texts in history: "On the Structure of the Human Body." He taught at the university of Padua for a time and then became the royal physician to Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. -
Nov 12, 1543
Copernicus writes "De Revolutionibus Orbium Caelestium"
This piece of Copernicus's work, translated as "on the revolution of heavenly orbs," outlines his idea of a heliocentric solar system; one that revolves areound the Sun. -
Nov 12, 1543
Andreas Vesalius conducted a public human dissection
Referred to as the "Father of Anatomy," Vesalius wanted to show his research and prove his work on the anatomy of the human body. Later that year, he went on to publish he book "On the Fabric of the Human Body," a groundbreaking illustrated text showing his research and helping to guide others persuing his field. -
Period: Dec 14, 1546 to
Tycho Brahe
Brahe was a Danish noble. As an astronomer and alchemist, Brahe made many conjectures as to the nature of the cosmos and ended up incorporating aspects of the Copernican and Ptolomeic systems into his own, comprehensive system: the Tychonic system. He was the last major astronomer to work without the benefits of a telescope. -
Period: Jan 22, 1561 to
Francis Bacon
A British philosopher, statesman, scientist, and jurist, Bacon was well versed in many subjects which allowed him to establish the inductive method of reasoning and the scientific method. This process urged for careful observation and proof of all conjectures, stemming from the importance of evidence itself. -
Period: Feb 15, 1564 to
Galileo Galilei
Galileo, the Father of the Modern Sciences, invented the telescope and pioneered its usage, proving that the Earth did, in fact, revolve around the Sun. He made very comprehensive notes of his observations, but ran into trouble with the Church. Having "recanted" his feelings as to the heliocentricity of the solar system, Galileo was placed under house arrest where he continued to work on astronomy and his research. -
Period: Dec 27, 1571 to
Johannes Kepler
Kepler, the successor to Brahe, worked to prove his theory that the orbits of the planets revolving aroundthe Sun were elliptical rather than simply circular. -
Nov 12, 1572
Tycho Brahe discovers the Crab Nebula
Brahe discovered the nebula, caused by a supernova, in 1572 and continued to study it for the next few years. -
Nov 12, 1577
Tycho Brahe discovers a new comet
Brahe discovered a new comet, which helped him realize and prove that comets and other celestial objects travel above the Earth's atmosphere. -
Period: Apr 1, 1578 to
William Harvey
He was a British physician who proposed the idea that blood circulates throughout the human body and that it is pumped by the heart. -
Period: to
Rene Descartes
A French philosopher and mathmetician, Descartes played an enormous role in the furthering of the mathematical field of geometry and pioneered his theory of dedective reasoning, stating that "I think, therefore I am." -
Giordano Bruno burnt
Bruno expanded upon Copernicus's theory, proposing that the Sun was merely a star and that there were hundreds of other inhabitable worlds throughout the universe populated by intelligent beings such as ourselves. The Church convicted him of heresy and he was burned at the stake. -
Johannes Kepler publishes his first two Laws of Planetary Motion
Kepler discovered and published his first two Laws of Planetary Motion in 1609. These laws stated that:
"The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci."
"A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time." -
Galileo sends a letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany
In this letter, Galileo asserts his beliefs on the universe, but also relates them to the Bible in an attempt to show how the new revelations, that resulted from the birth of the new sciences, are not harmful to the Church's authority. -
Johannes Kepler publishes third Law of Planetary Motion
His third and final law, published in 1619, stated that:
"The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit." In combination with his first two laws, he proved that the orbits of planets are elliptical, rather than circular. -
Novum Organum is published by Francis Bacon
This philosophical work, written in Latin, outlined Bacon's philisophy of "Inductive Reasoning." -
Period: to
Marcello Malpighi
He was an Italian doctor who was the first person to observe and deduce the existence of capillary veins. He discovered that not only did blood circulate throuhgout the body, but also that it flowed through minuscule arteries. -
William Harvey publishes "On the Movement of the Heart and the Blood"
In this book, Harvey discusses his evidence for the proposition that blood circulates throughout the human body and that the heart acts as the central pump, moving the blood throughout. This was a groundbreaking and cautiously accepted medical proposition, but it helped guide future anatomists. -
Galileo banned by the Church
Galileo was banned by the Catholic Church from spreading any more of his heretical ideas on the existence of a heliocentric solar system. He was forced to recant his beliefs, but continued his research, proving that his theory was correct. -
Galileo publishes "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems"
This book, written to compare the Copernican Theory with the traditional Ptolomeic Thoery of the solar system, was decicated to Galileo's patron, Ferdinando II de' Medici the Grand Duke of Tuscany. -
Rene Descartes Publishes his "Discourse on Method"
This treatise attempted to tackle the problem of skepticism and outlined Descartes' philosophical reasoning. This piece of work contains his famous quotation: "I think, therefore I am" which explains his "Deductive Reasoning" philosophy. Deductive Resoning states that if one thing can be asserted and proved by evidencing another conditional statement. -
Galileo publishes his "Two New Sciences"
Galileo's final book which acted as a testiment to his scientific work over the preceding years. In this work he spoke of the strength of materials and the motion of objects as defined by his understanding and research. -
Period: to
Isaac Newton
A British mathmetician, physicist, and thinker, Newton proposed the theory of gravity as a force compelling to object to move together. He also lay out his theories of the laws that defined and controlled the universe and attempted to create one overarching law of everything. -
Malpighi proves the existence of capillaries
Marcello Malpighi proved the existence of capillary veins and induced that the previous assertion of William Harvey, that the blood circulates throughout the body, was correct. He studied human brains and organs under a microscope to prove his assertions. -
Jean Picard measures Earth's distance from Mars
Picard was a French astronomer who was the first person to accurately estimate the size of Earth. In 1672, he tried to estimate the distance between Earth and Mars using math and astronimical observations. -
Newton publishes his "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica"
In this incredible text, Newton defines his famous laws of motion and also defines calculus, the math he used to prove his assertions. His Law of Universal Gravition states his proof of the existence of gravity and his definition therein. -
Sir Isaac Newton publishes "Opticks"
This book is about optics and the refraction of light, his second groundbreaking book on the physics of the natural world. He describes prismatic disperision.