Galileo Galilei, 1564-1642
In the year that saw the birth of Shakespeare, Galileo Galilei, the revolutionary Italian astronomer and mathematician, was born in Pisa.
Towards the end of the first decade of the sixteenth century the city of Pisa was conquered by Florence, and so became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Once proudly independent, but now in decline, it still boasted a famous university and remained a respected centre of learning. Living in this city was the noble but poor Galilei family. Its head, Vincenzio, traded as a cloth merchant, and it was to him and his wife Giulia that a son, Galileo, was born in February 1564 – the year that also saw the death of Michelangelo and the birth of Shakespeare.
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