Galileo Galilei  Considered the father of modern science,
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) made major contributions to the
fields of physics, astronomy, cosmology, mathematics and
philosophy. He invented an improved telescope that let him
observe and describe the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn,
the phases of Venus, sunspots and the rugged lunar surface. His
flair for self-promotion earned him powerful friends among
Italy's ruling elite and enemies among the Catholic Church’s
leaders. His advocacy of a heliocentric universe brought him
before religious authorities in 1616 and again in 1633, when he
was forced to recant and placed under house arrest for the rest
of his life.   Galileo's Early Life, Education and Experiments
Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa in 1564, the first of six
children of Vincenzo Galilei, a musician and scholar. In 1581 he
entered the University of Pisa to study medicine, but was soon
sidetracked by mathematics. In 1583 he made his first important
discovery, describing the rules that g