When was Galileo Galilei born?

Galileo Galilei was born on 15 February 1564 in Pisa.

Where did Galileo Galilei study?

Galileo Galilei was educated at University of Pisa.

Justus Sustermans · Public domain

Suggest a better photo · Report

Galileo Galilei

ग्यालिलियो ग्यालिली

Italian polymath (1564–1642)

नेपालीमा पढ्नुहोस् · हिंदी में पढ़ें

नेपाली · English · हिंदीRead in your language
CitedEvery fact sourced
Ad-freeNo ads, no tracking

Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer and polymath. He was born in Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence. Galileo has been called the father of observational astronomy, classical physics, the scientific method, and modern science.

Quick facts

Born: 15 February 1564 wd
Place of birth: Pisa wd
Died: 8 January 1642 wd
Place of death: Arcetri wd
Citizenship: Duchy of Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany wd
Occupation: astronomer, philosopher, mathematician, physicist, inventor, astrologer wd
Education: University of Pisa wd

Awards wd

International Space Hall of Fame (1991)

About

He studied speed and velocity, gravity and free fall, the principle of relativity, inertia, projectile motion, and also worked in applied science and technology, describing the properties of the pendulum and "hydrostatic balances". He was one of the earliest developers of the thermoscope and the inventor of various military compasses. With an improved telescope he built, he observed the stars of the Milky Way, the phases of Venus, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, Saturn's rings, lunar craters, and sunspots. He also built an early microscope.

Galileo's championing of Copernican heliocentrism was met with opposition from within the Catholic Church and from some astronomers. The matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that his opinions contradicted accepted Biblical interpretations.

Galileo defended his views in Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo

(Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, 1632), which appeared to dispute and satirize Pope Urban VIII, thus alienating both the Pope and the Jesuits, who had both strongly supported Galileo until this point. He was tried by the Inquisition, found "vehemently suspect of heresy", and forced to recant. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest. During this time, he wrote Discorsi e Dimostrazioni Matematiche, intorno a due nuove scienze (Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Relating to Two New Sciences, 1638) primarily about kinematics and the strength of materials.

Questions

When was Galileo Galilei born?: Galileo Galilei was born on 15 February 1564 in Pisa.
Where did Galileo Galilei study?: Galileo Galilei was educated at University of Pisa.

Sources

Last updated 3 November 2026 · facts checked 5 November 2026

Cite this page

"Galileo Galilei". DigiNepal. Last updated 3 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/galileo-galilei. Retrieved 6 November 2026.

Machine-readable versions: JSON · Markdown

Text from the Wikipedia article Galileo Galilei, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) RMG BHC2700.tiff — Justus Sustermans, Public domain.

Is this you, or do you work in this person's office? Claim this profile