The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution

Period: 120 to 1800

Claudius Ptolemy

140

Ptolemy was an ancient astronomer who came up with the Geocentric theory. This theory was that the earth was the center of the universe and that all of the planets orbited the earth. Although he was not a pioneer of the scientific revolution, his work was the basis for a lot of change. Many scientists went on to challenge this theory.

Roger Bacon

1200

Roger Bacon was an English philosopher and scientist during the 1200s. Bacon had studied at Oxford and Paris, and was viewed as a leading scholar for the time. Although he was a Franciscan monk, he favored the idea of scientific experimentation. He was one of the first people to believe in answering daily life using science. This changed the way people think because since Bacon was an influential person, people started to think the way he did.

Nicolaus Copernicus

1500

Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer in the 1500s. At the time, everyone still believed in the Geocentric theory, which means that everything revolved around the earth. Copernicus abandoned this theory and argued that the sun was the center of the universe. When it was published in 1543, not many paid any heed to it. This event furthered the thinking of other scientists who would address this topic. This did not change the way people think, but it helped other scientists in their research.

Andreas Vesalius

1543

Andreas Vesalius was a scientist during the mid 1500s. Vesalius pioneered the study of anatomy. He refused to accept descriptions of the human body written 1400 years earlier by Galen. He conducted his own studies to learn how the human body functioned. In 1543, Vesalius published his work in the form of a seven volume book that described the human body and its workings. This is important because his work furthered people's understanding of the human body. This changed the way people think.

Zacharias Janssen

1595

Zacharias Janssen was a Dutch spectacle maker. He is credited with inventing the compound microscope. In 1595, he built the microscope with his father, Hans. In this microscope, Janssen and Hans later developed their Cell theory. This is important because the microscope would help many other scientists conduct their own research.

Johannes Kepler

1609

Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer helped confirm Copernicus's Heliocentric theory. Kepler was an amazing mathematician who used observation, models, and mathematics to confirm Copernicus's theory. In 1609, he published his laws of planetary motion. This event is important because it shows how some scientists can use other's ideas to build on their own research. This challenged what people thought because this time, there was actual science involved in proving the theory to be true.

Francis Bacon

1620

Francis Bacon was an English philosopher who believed that theories could be developed only through experimentation. He said that no reasoning could be made and trusted unless it was proven by experiments. In 1620, he published Novum Organum, a book that drafted his way of thinking. This was important because it showed that without experimentation, a theory cannot be proven. This also changed the way people think, because it forced them to get evidence on their claims, rather than just assuming.

William Harvey

1628

William Harvey was an English physician who made important contributions to the study of human anatomy. One of his most important works, published in 1628, was the Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus. In this he recognized that blood flows rapidly through the body. This is important because it helps people understand how their own body works. This changed the way people thought because they were thinking based on what they saw instead of actual science.

Galileo Galilei

1632

Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist who had help prove Copernicus's theory alongside Johannes Kepler. Galileo used science. Galileo used a constructed a telescope and was able to see things that no one was ever able to before, and used these to prove Copernicus's theory. Galileo published his findings in 1632. This is important because it helped further our understanding on the solar system. This challenged the way people think because people stuck to one idea that they believed was right.

Rene Descartes

1637

Rene Descartes was a french philosopher and mathematician. Descartes believed that no assumptions could be right without proof. In 1637, he published Discourse on Method. In this book, he stated that all assumptions and reasoning had to be proven by facts. This is important because it shows the importance of evidence and experimentation in the world of science. This changed the way people think because people believed what they saw and read, not what they could prove with physical evidence.

Robert Boyle

1662

Robert Boyle was an English-Irish scientist. In 1662, Boyle showed through experimentation that temperature and pressure affect the space that a gas fills. This is important because it helped people understand that experimentation and science was the only way to find the truth. This changed the way people think because people started relying on experimentation and facts instead of religion and bias.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

1673

Anton van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch scientist who used the microscope to discover bacteria. In 1673, he made the earliest observations of single-celled organisms. He called these animalcules. He was later a Fellow in the Royal Society. This is important because it showed that experimentation and physical evidence could prove what happens in the world instead of religion. This changed the way people thought because people learned to believe in science rather than religion.

Isaac Newton

1687

In 1687, Issac Newton published a book building on the workings of Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. He stated that they had shown that the planets revolved around the sun, but they couldn't explain why they moved this way. Newton realised, after many experiments, that the force that holds planets in their orbit and the force that makes objects fall are the same. This was important because it helped us know more about our planet. This also caused people to change the way they think.

Joeseph Priestley

1774

Joeseph Priestley was an English chemist. In 1774, he discovered the element oxygen. Priestley is also credited with the discovery of many other gases. Joeseph Priestley published over 150 works in his career. His work is important because it was a basis for chemistry. Using Priestley's work, many other scientists were able to do research.

Antoine Lavoisier

1778

Antoine Lavoisier was a french scientist who in 1778 recognized and named oxygen. He also named and recognized hydrogen in the year 1783. This is important because people started to learn what made the area around them and they started to recognize why certain things happened. This also changed the way people thought.