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Black & white illustrated cover of Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems

Books of Influence

Dialogo … Sopra i Due Massimi Sistemi del Mondo

Galileo Galilei

1632


Galileo (1564-1642) has been described as the father of modern astronomy and physics. He improved the telescope and was the first to use it for astronomical observations.

Galileo supported Nicolaus Copernicus’ heliocentric theory, in which the planets revolve around the sun rather than the Earth. This put him at odds with the Catholic Church which permitted his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in Florence by Giovanni Battista Landini, only on the proviso that it presented heliocentrism as hypothetical rather than fact.

After it was published, however, Galileo was accused of heresy and his book was banned. He was placed under house arrest where he remained until his death.