Galileo Galilei

Nick Wilding (Georgia State University)

Ed. by Jo Ann Cavallo, Columbia University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

Born 15 Feb 1564
Died 8 Jan 1642
Activity 1588-1642

Places

Born in Italy
Active in Italy

Activities

Primary

Astronomer
Inventor
Scientist

Resources

Galileo Galilei was born on February 16^th, 1564, in Pisa, to Giulia Ammannati and Vincenzo Galileo, a professional musician and member of a noble but impoverished Florentine family. He was the eldest of six (perhaps seven) children, two (or three) of whom died in infancy. Before he was ten the family moved to Florence, where he was educated by the Vallombrosans. In 1581 he matriculated at the University of Pisa to study medicine, but became interested instead in mathematics, returning to Florence in 1585 without a degree. He set to work on applied mathematics, mechanics and scientific instruments, inventing a hydrostatic balance, and also perhaps following (probably at a distance) courses taught at the Jesuit College in Rome i…

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2473 words

Citation: Wilding, Nick. "Galileo Galilei". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 June 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1670, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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