Galileo Galilei

Observer, Experimenter, and Challenger of Dogma (1564–1642)

Galileo pioneered modern observational astronomy and experimental physics. Using his improved telescope, he observed Jupiter’s moons, the phases of Venus, and the rugged lunar surface — discoveries that challenged geocentric cosmology.

His support for heliocentrism and his insistence on mathematical description of nature brought him into conflict with ecclesiastical authorities; yet his methods laid foundations for modern science.

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.”

Galileo’s legacy is the power of observation and experiment — the attitude that empirical evidence, not authority, decides scientific truth.