Autobiography of Galileo Galilei
The Starry Messenger
Early Years: Fire and Passion
My name is Galileo Galilei. I was born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy, to Vincenzo Galilei, a music theorist, and Giulia Ammannati, an affectionate mother of six. I was their firstborn.
My father, passionate about music and its mathematical underpinnings, inspired me with an early understanding of numbers and a love for knowledge. This predilection would evolve into an insatiable curiosity for the natural world and the mathematical principles underlying its phenomena.
The Pisan Tower and the Path to Knowledge
As a young man, I pursued a medical degree at the University of Pisa, as was my father’s desire. But my heart pulled me in another direction – toward mathematics. The path of numbers, laws, and equations revealed to me a world far more captivating than that of medicine.
During my time in Pisa, I began to question Aristotle’s long-accepted belief that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. In one of my most notorious experiments, I allegedly dropped two spheres of different weights from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Both landed at the same time, defying Aristotelian physics and proving the universality of free fall.
Moving to Padua: A Telescope and the Heavens
In 1592, I left Pisa to occupy a more lucrative position at the University of Padua. The move was fortuitous, opening the door to the most profound discoveries of my life. At Padua, I heard of a “spyglass” that could magnify distant objects. Intrigued, I constructed my own version without ever having seen the original. With minor adjustments, my telescope was born, capable of magnifying objects up to 20 times.
I directed my telescope towards the heavens, discovering a universe far richer than imagined. I observed mountains and valleys on the moon, contrary to the Aristotelian belief that heavenly bodies were perfect, unblemished spheres.
I spotted strange “stars” near Jupiter, and as I followed their paths night after night, I realized they were not stars at all, but moons orbiting the giant planet. The discovery of these celestial bodies – now known as the Galilean moons – provided powerful evidence against the geocentric model of the universe, supporting instead the Copernican heliocentric model.
The Inquisition and My Recantation
My observations, published in “The Starry Messenger” and “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems,” provoked the ire of the Catholic Church. I was summoned by the Roman Inquisition in 1616 and 1633 for heresy, accused of advocating the heliocentric model, which was against the Church’s teachings.
Faced with the threat of torture, I recanted my support for Copernicanism in public, uttering the words, “I abjure, curse, and detest the aforesaid errors and heresies.” Yet, a popular (albeit apocryphal) account says that upon rising from my knees, I muttered, “And yet it moves,” asserting my inner belief in Earth’s motion.
My Last Years: Science in the Shadows
After the Inquisition, I lived under house arrest in Arcetri, near Florence. Although my public life ended, my scientific inquiry did not. I continued to write and study, even as my health deteriorated and my vision failed.
In 1638, I published my final work, “Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Relating to Two New Sciences.” Despite being nearly blind, I described my earlier work on the two sciences now called kinematics and materials strength, laying the groundwork for the science of physics.
I breathed my last on January 8, 1642, leaving behind a world forever changed by my discoveries. While my life was filled with controversy and hardship, the pursuit of truth, the unraveling of nature’s secrets, and the love for science remained my guiding lights.
My name is Galileo Galilei, the man who dared to look up at the sky and question the universe. I am the Starry Messenger, and my message will echo through the ages.
Galileo Galilei Books and Audio Books on Amazon.
Show more +
