Galileo Galilei – Astronomer and Scientist 1564-1642. Galileo developed a superior telescope and made many significant discoveries in astronomy. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the inquisition for his support for the Copernican theory that the sun was at the centre of the solar system
alileo was born in Florence, Italy in 1564 to a poor but noble family.
His parents recognised their child’s innate intelligence and talents and so made sacrifices to have him educated. At his father’s insistence, Galileo studied the profitable career of medicine. But, at the University of Pisa, Galileo became fascinated in a wide range of subjects. He was also critical of many of Aristotle’s teaching which had dominated education for the past 2,000 years.