Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642)
Galileo's full name was Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei.

Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei, is noted as a historic hero first and foremost because of his powers of observation and his ability to analyze what he had observed. Galileo is credited with the invention of the telescope, the thermometer and improving the precision of the compass, but in fact he earned himself the title of "Father of modern science" from world reknown scientists including Newton, Einstein, and Stephen Hawkins.

Galileo famously argued with the all powerful Roman Catholic Church during a period in history when the Church persecuted anyone who dared to question its authority. As a man of science, Galileo needed to be true to his observations and his astronomical observations proved Nicholas Copernicus' theory that all planets revolve around the sun and NOT the earth.

This heliocentric view of the planets contradicted what was at that time Church doctrine, although Galileo correctly pointed out that there was nothing in the bible which directly stated that the earth must be the center of the universe. But the church elders disagreed, and in 1616 banned Galileo from spreading his heliocentric message.

At that time, Galileo turned his attention to other scientific questions such as explaining the tides, and in his day, Galileo was recognized as a practical physicist rather than a theoretical purist and he was the first to exclaim that "the Laws of Nature are mathematical". Later, in 1632, Galileo returned to promote the heliocentric view of the galaxy by publishing a book entitled "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems". This ultimately got him in deep trouble with the Church, he was tried during "The Inquisition", and was found guilty of heresy.

Today, the Catholic Church has fully reversed its decision, and now not only considers Galileo a man of Faith, but also is seen to be reversing its position on the compatibility between Faith and Science. Had Galileo, and Nicholas Copernicus before him, not dared to stand up for Truth, we might all still be living in a world very much in the dark because scientific observation and inquiry would have been stifled as would any other discussion and discourse that ran contrary to Church doctrine.

The question we might ask, now 400 years later, is whether Galileo would be proud of what science, scientists, and technology are doing in and to our world today.

What's your opinion? Comment below.

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