The Man

Galileo Galilei was born in or about February 1564 in Pisa.  We know that although his father, a talented musician, wanted him to become a doctor, Galileo chose instead mathematics as his field of study.  He was such a talented mathematician that he became chair of mathematics at Pisa when he was only twenty five years old.  Galileo's accomplishments were many but his most important accomplishment was to revolutionize the study of science itself! 

Galileo never married.  He did, however,  have a longterm liaison that resulted in three children: two daughters (Virginia and Livia) and a son (Vincenzo).  Although Galileo was  married to his science, it did not prevent him from being very much a loving father.   He gave his children his name, cared for them, and took them with him when he left his mistress behind in Padua, moving on to Florence to accept the position of chief mathematician and philosopher.  It is interesting to note that both daughters entered the convent and his son eventually became a lawyer, taking care of his father in Galileo's old age.  Since the girls were illegitimate and, most importantly, since Galileo was in no financial position to give them a rich dowry, the only recourse Galileo saw to ensure their future was to place them in a convent.  His daughter Virginia, later known as Suor Marie Celeste, seems to have been the child closest to his heart.   There are extensive letters written by her to Galileo.  In all of these she shows her love and devotion to her father.

Galileo's name has  become synonymous with the Inquisition and the relationship between science and religion.    For him, however, there was no problem between science and religion.  He believed that science only reinforced the idea of a God and a faith.  The two were interdependent.  The problem lay only in the way man interpreted both.

Galileo died in 1642, having spent his later years exiled to his home as directed by the Tribunal of the Inquisition.  During his years of house arrest, he devoted his time to the science that he so loved and even wrote a treatise on the laws of motion titled Discourses on Two New Sciences.   When he died in 1642, he left behind a scientific legacy which is still enriching us.