The Italian physicist was born is Pisa on 15 February 1564 (see appendix B). He was the first of seven children. Galileo was educated by a tutor and his father, a nobleman and well known for musical studies. At the age of 11 he was sent to a local monastery where he, like other children of noble people studied Greek, Latin, religion and music. Following his father’s wish, he continued his education, at the age of 17 he enrolled as a student of medicine at the University of Pisa in 1581. He showed little interest in medicine, it was at this time when mathematics captured his attention.It was around one year after enrolling at the University of Pisa, he made the legendary discovery of the movement of pendulums (see appendix A), he proved his theory by conducting several experiments. It was about this time he began to question the respected teachings of Aristotle, particularly his theory on falling objects. He continued an independent study on science and mathematics, he finally convinced his father to allow him to abandon the study of medicine. Galileo withdrew from his course without a degree.In 1589 he was appointed as a lecturer of mathematics at the University of Pisa (see appendix B). It was at this time that he disproved traditional theories of Aristotle; Galileo found that all objects fall at the same speed regardless of mass. After this discovery he was appointed chair of mathematics at the University of Padua, it was here that he claimed his fame. In 1597 he constructed a military compass witch brought him acclaim, it was astronomy and motion that established his reputation as a leading scientist. In 1609 Galileo perfected the telescope, he began to look into the sky, soon he disproved many conventional theories, such as the Earth orbits around the sun. He published his findings in a book, which implied strong support for the copernician system, which was incredibly popular, this book brought international fame and contro...
