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300 BCE
Aristotle explained the geocentric theory
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168
Ptolemy supported the geocentric theory
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1512
Nicolaus Copernicus reasoned the heliocentric theory
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1543
Andreas Vesalius published On the Fabric of the Human Body – detailing dissection of human bodies
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Zacharias Janssen invented the microscope
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The Baroque Period began in art, music, and architecture (Bach and Handel were composers)
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Galileo developed the law of the pendulum
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Johannes Kepler published the first two laws of planetary motion
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Francis Bacon published Novum Organum which encouraged the experimental method
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Galileo was put under house arrest by an Inquisition for supporting Copernicus’s theory
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Rene Descartes published Discourse on Method which set forth his reasoning
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Evangelista Torricelli developed the first mercury barometer
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William Harvey showed that the heart acted as a pump to circulate blood throughout the body
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Thomas Hobbes published Leviathan – social contract (people give up rights to a strong ruler who maintains order)
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Robert Boyle created Boyle’s Law
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Anton van Leeuwenhoek saw red blood cells for the first time
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Isaac Newton published his law of gravity
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John Locke explained his theory of “natural rights” (life, liberty, and property)
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Mary Astell wrote A Serious Proposal to the Ladies – addressing the lack of educational opportunities for women
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Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin held her first salon of philosophes
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Gabriel Fahrenheit made the first thermometer to use mercury in glass (32° = freezing; 212° = boiling)
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Francois-Marie Arouet changed his name to Voltaire and goes on to champion individual freedoms
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The enlightened despot, Frederick II, began his rule of Prussia
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Anders Celsius created a scale for the mercury thermometer (0° = freezing; 100° = boiling)
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Denis Diderot published the first volume of the Encyclopedia – a collection of enlightened thinkers works
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Montesquieu published On the Spirit of Laws – detailing separation of powers in government
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Emilie du Châtalet (a mathematician and physicist) translated Newton’s work from Latin into French
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Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote The Social Contract – free individuals create a society and government
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The enlightened despot, Catherine the Great, began her rule of Russia
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Cesare Beccaria published On Crimes and Punishments – railing against common abuses of justice
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The enlightened despot, Joseph II, began his rule of Austria
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Antoine Lavoisier discovered and named gas oxygen
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Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen
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The Classical Period began in art, music, and architecture (Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven were composers)
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Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence
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The U.S. Congress added the Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments) to the Constitution
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Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman – promoting women’s education as virtuous
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Edward Jenner introduced a vaccine to prevent small pox
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The U.S. enacted the Constitution – establishing a federal system, separation of powers, checks and balances
