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Period: Nov 17, 1451 to
T H E S C I E N T I F I C R E V O L U T I O N
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Aug 28, 1462
Renaissance natural
One of the major publications of Renaissance natural philosophy, the Epitome of Ptolemy's Almagest appears; the authors, Georg Peurbach (1423-1461) and Johannes Regiomontanus (1436-1476), symbolize a shift from reverence for Ptolemy and antiquity to respect coupled with confident innovation -
Apr 18, 1494
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
(1463-1494) attacks practical magic, especially, astrology, as it calls into questions traditional notions of human free will; this concern underscores longstanding issues associated with the Condemnations of 1270 and 1277 which seems to have undermined the authority of Aristotle -
Mar 3, 1543
Andreas Vesalius
One of the most famous publications in natural philosophy was the anatomical book of Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), De fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body). It was arguably the most important anatomical texts of the century, at once criticizing the work of the ancients, principally Galen, which offering new illustrations based on first-hand observation and fresh dissections -
Dec 28, 1551
the German astronomer Erasmus Reinhold
Deriving his results from Copernicus' data and planetary models, the German astronomer Erasmus Reinhold (1511-1553) publishes his Prutenic Tables, which for many astronomers replaced the outdated efforts associated with the Alphonsine Tables (1252). Reinhold's efforts were not seriously challenged until Kepler Rudolphine Tables, which were based on Tycho's data and Kepler's new calculation methods -
Nov 22, 1553
Michael Servetu
A man of religious conviction, Michael Servetus (1511-1553) proposed a radical new theory concerning the pulmonary circulation of the blood, a theory motivated in part by esoteric theological concerns involving the trinity. Servetus was found guilty of heresy and burned at the stake in Geneva by the religious reformer, John Calvin. -
Sep 27, 1576
Englishman Thomas Digges
An early account of Copernicus's heliocentric theory, and a description of the cosmos and distribution of the stars as infinitely extended, is offered by the Englishman Thomas Digges (c.1546-1595) in the appendix to a work by his father, Leonard Digges, possibly a Copernican himself. An infinity of stars may have suggested to some the possibility of a plurality of worlds, which in turn eventually raised theological concern. -
Nov 30, 1577
Tycho Brahe
The year of the 'Comet of 1577' made famous by Tycho Brahe, and again challenging a central tenet inherited from Aristotle, that the celestial spheres were 'solid' perhaps even crystalline. Because the path of the comet seemed to many astronomers to be above the sphere of the moon (that is, superlunary) the apparent path of the comet would 'shatter' anything in its path. If Tycho's observations 'shattered the crystalline spheres' then a reasonable question might be 'What moves the planets' -
William Gilbert
In his On the Magnet the Englishman William Gilbert (1540-1603) provided a hyper-empirical study of magnets, magnetism, and electricity with speculations about cosmology. Gilbert collected dozen of diamonds to magnetize, rub magnets with garlic, and otherwise to the English tradition to extreme lengths. It is a pioneering classic in 'empirical' method. -
vitellioem paralipomena quibus astronomiae pars optica traditor
In optics, Johannes Kepler publishes his Ad vitellioem paralipomena quibus astronomiae pars optica traditor (The Optical Part of Astronomy) where he argues that light rays are rectilinear, that they diminish in intensity by the inverse square of their distance as they travel from the light source. Kepler also argues that the retina is the seat of vision, and it is there that a 'pictura' is formed, an inverted image that is somehow transmitted to the 'seat of judgment' -
Newton's health fails
March 18 - Newton's health fails, he collapses and borders on death; shortly thereafter, Newton dies at Kensington between 1.00 and 2.00am. On 28 March his body lays in state in Westminster Abbey where he is buried on 4 April.
