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Dec 31, 1514
Andreas Vesalius
Anatomist and physician, helped to correct misconceptions prevailing since ancient times and laid the foundations of the modern science of anatomy through his dissections of the human body and descriptions of his findings. http://famousbelgians.net/vesalius.htm -
Feb 6, 1543
Nicolas Capernicus
-Sun was center.
-Capernican Universe
-The way we viewed the world went aginst church. (Book Pg.513) -
Feb 15, 1564
Galileo
Galileo's observations with his new telescope convinced him of the truth of Copernicus's sun-centered or heliocentric theory. (http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96feb/galileo.html) -
Feb 6, 1571
Johannes Kepler
-Kepler's first Law: The orbit of a planet about the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun's center of mass at one focus.
-Kepler's second Law: A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time.
-Kepler's third Law: The squares of the periods of the planets are proportional to the cubes of their semi-major axes. (http://www.johanneskepler.com/) -
John Locke
-A British philosopher.
- he became successively a government official charged with collecting information about trade and colonies, economic writer, opposition political activist, and finally a revolutionary whose cause ultimately triumphed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
-Locke also wrote a variety of important political, religious and educational works. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/ -
Issac Newton
-As mathematician, Newton invented integral calculus.
-He also calculated a formula for finding the velocity of sound in a gas which was later corrected by Laplace.
-made a huge impact on theoretical astronomy. He defined the laws of motion and universal gravitation which he used to predict precisely the motions of stars, and the planets around the sun. Using his discoveries in optics Newton constructed the first reflecting telescope. (http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95dec/newton.html) -
René Descartes
-Father of Modern Philosophy. -His break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences. http://www.iep.utm.edu/descarte/ -
First Newspaper
John Campbell, a bookseller and postmaster of Boston, was its first editor, printing the newspaper on what was then referred to as a half-sheet. It originally appeared on a single page, printed on both sides and issued weekly.
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/newspaper/ -
Didderot
-The essayist and philosopher Denis Diderot was one of the originators and interpreters of the Age of Enlightenment.
-This 18th-century movement was based on the belief that right reason, or rationalism, could find true knowledge and lead mankind to progress and happiness. He was the chief editor of its leading testament, the 'Encyclopedie'. http://history-world.org/diderot.htm -
Montesquieu
-a nobleman, a judge in a French court, and one of the most influential political thinkers. Based on his research he developed a number of political theories presented in The Spirit of the Laws. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/montesquieu-spirit.asp -
Rousseau
-One of the most influential thinkers during the Enlightenment in eighteenth century Europe.
-His first major philosophical work, A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, was the winning response to an essay contest conducted by the Academy of Dijon in 1750.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/ -
Voltaire
-French writer, satirist, the embodiment of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
-Voltaire's world view was more skeptical, but both of their ideas influenced deeply the French Revolution. Voltaire disliked Rousseau and wrote to him in 1761: "One feels like crawling on all fours after reading your work." http://kirjasto.sci.fi/voltaire.htm -
Adam Smith
-Today Smith’s reputation rests on his explanation of how rational self-interest in a free-market economy leads to economic well-being.
-Smith was the Scottish philosopher who became famous for his book, “The Wealth of Nations” written in 1776, which had a profound influence on modern economics and concepts of individual freedom.
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html -
Beccaria
-His position is that capital punishment is not necessary to deter, and long term imprisonment is a more powerful deterrent since execution is transient.
-Beccaria touches on an array of criminal justice practices, recommending reform.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/beccaria/ -
marx,communism
Marxist Communism has been the one of the most influential -ideological developments of the past 200 years, yet very few Americans actually know anything about Communist ideology. Americans do have many misconceptions about Communism however, which have been intentionally promoted by American leadership.
http://rationalrevolution.net/war/communism_and_marxism.htm
