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Jul 20, 1304
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) was a writer and poet in the Middle Ages. The poems and writings of Petrarch left a huge impact on the thinkers of that time. Through his writing he returned the focus on the ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts and he brought to focus the importance of one's life. He was known as the father of Humanism, which was the approach in philosophy that emphasized the values of the human being. Petrarch played a key role in the bringing about the Renaissance. -
Jan 1, 1377
Filippo Bruneschelli
Bruneschelli (1377- 1446) was an engineer and architect during the Renaissance. He was one of the pioneers of early Renaissance architecture in Italy. He is regarded as the first modern engineer and his works and inventions fueled the thinkers of that time and architecture progressed immensly. Bruneschelli changed the intellectual world by influencing the thinkers of his time and his inventions progressed society. -
Jan 1, 1395
Johannes Gutenberg
Johannes Gutenberg (1395-1468) was an inventor who created the printing press. The printing press was a machine that used movable type to produce books. This invention fueled the amount of knowledge and oppurtunity available to others. The printing press increased literacy and the spread of intellectual ideas to all parts of the world. -
Apr 15, 1452
Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci lived from April 15, 1452 to 1519. Throughout Da Vinci's life he was an artist, scientist, architect, engineer and inventor. One of his most famous paintings was the Mona Lisa which had made a lot of different writers try to think of how this girl in this realistic painting was feeling. Leonardo Da Vinci changed the intellectual world because he inspired others to look at things in a different way and was the true definition of a renaissance man. -
Feb 7, 1478
Thomas More
Thomas More was a Christian humanist that wrote the book Utopia. Utopia was a book about an ideal place that doesn't really exist. This place that More had depicted in his book had no greed, corruption, or war. This is how the term Utopia became known in English as an imaginary, perfect place. He lived from February 7, 1478 to July 6, 1535. He changed the intellectual world with his book Utopia that made people see how money and the need for power just made our world worse. -
John Locke
John Locke (1632- 1704) was an Oxford scholar and most importantly, an influential philosopher. He wrote about political philosophy and education. His writings revealed that he believed in the natural rights of every human, life liberty and property. Locke influenced many leaders throughout time and helped found modern Western philosophy. -
Two Treatise of Government Quote
In,Two Treatise of Government, John Locke convinces his readers that in order for a government to work, the people need to unite. It says: "The only way whereby anyone divests himself of his natural liberty, and puts on the bonds of civil society, is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community, for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any that are not of it." -
Isaac Newton
Newton was a mathematician that came up with the law of universal gravitation. He published this idea of universal gravitation in his book The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. In his book he states that every object in this universe is attracted to every other object depending on its mass and distance. This idea changed the intellectual world in so many ways because it went against what the church and most people believed. It gave a different and new explanation through reason. -
Jean Paul Marat
Marat was a member of the radical group called the Jacobins during the French Revolution. He was a very violent writer and used a newspaper called the L'Ami du Peuple to express his anger. He wrote that anyone who supported the king should be killed. Eventually he was killed by a member of a group that supported the king her name was Charlotte Corday. Marat was such a radical leader that changed the intellectual world by influencing people to follow the revolution and fight for freedom. -
Union Movement In the Early 1800s
Unions are an association of workers that form to bargain for better working conditions and higher wages. If the facotry owners refused the union's demands then the workers would go on strike. This bargaining for a better life got people to be more independent and value themselves, further advancing society. These union movements continued into the 1900s and people today still bargain for better working conditions. -
Charles Darwin
Darwin created a lot of controversy with his idea that God was not the creator of all different kinds of plants and animals but that all special creations had been developed from earlier forms of creatures. Darwin wrote a book called On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. This book basically was about survival of the fittest. He believed species are created faster than food supplies so the fittest would survive and kill off the weaker, it was called the theory of evolution. -
JFK Union Quote
John F. Kennedy once said, "Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor." This shows that by the people taking charge for better lives, they have gained better conditions. This shows that their efforts paid off.
