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1544
Nicolaus Copernicus
In the middle of the 16th century a Catholic, Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, synthesized observational data to formulate a comprehensive, Sun-centered cosmology, launching modern astronomy and setting off a scientific revolution. -
Francis bacon
Francis Bacon played an indirect role in the contribution to plate tectonic theory and solid Earth geophysics but was influential to all in the scientific community. Francis Bacon created the Scientific Method, also known as the Bacon Method. -
Galileo Galilei
With his telescope, Galileo became the first European to document sunspots, which refuted Aristotle's belief that the sun was a perfect sphere without marks or blemishes. Galileo had already shown this was not true for the Moon in 1609 when he used his telescope to discover lunar mountains and craters. -
Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes had a significant role to play in the Scientific Revolution. Through his specialty in mathematics, he could transform geometrical problems into algebra. Further, he established the x and y axes in his algebraic drawings. The modern notation for exponents was also a Rene Descartes innovation. -
Isaac Newton
Newton and the Scientific Revolution. For many Newton's work in mathematics, optics, and physics constitutes the capstone of the Scientific Revolution, also opening the door to modern science and scientific method. -
john locke
Often credited as a founder of modern “liberal” thought, Locke pioneered the ideas of natural law, social contract, religious toleration, and the right to revolution that proved essential to both the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution that followed -
Montesquieu
In particular, Montesquieu's discussion of separation of powers and checks and balances profoundly influenced the American Founders and the design of the U.S. Constitution. It was not unusual for eighteenth-century Americans to speak of Montesquieu as an “oracle” of political wisdom whose work is “always consulted.” -
Denis Diderot
He placed very hefty importance on the role of experimentation, scientific discovery, and reason when it came to the acquisition of knowledge. Further, he ran with the concept of individualism, which was gaining prominence during the Enlightenment. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau's ideas in Social Contract heavily influenced the Declaration of Independence. He claimed that people would give up unlimited freedom for the security provided by a government, but also that people of the state hold the ultimate right to power. -
Voltaire
Voltaire rebelled against the Church and most state institutions (aristocracy, monarchy, and bureaucrats). He advocated for social reform and equality. His writings gave the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers critical concepts to build a new form of government. -
James Watt
Although Watt invented and improved a number of industrial technologies, he is best remembered for his improvements to the steam engine. Watt's steam engine design incorporated two of his own inventions: the separate condenser (1765) and the parallel motion (1784). -
George Washington
George Washington was appointed commander of the Continental Army in 1775. Despite having little experience in commanding large, conventional military forces, his leadership presence and fortitude held the American military together long enough to secure victory at Yorktown and independence for his new nation in 1781. -
Adam Smith
Recognizing that the American colonists were victims of Britain's mercantile policies, Smith advised Parliament to let the American colonies peacefully go their own way. For the sake of maintaining a monopoly of trade, he argued, the colonies had cost the British people much more than they had gained. -
Thomas Jefferson
As the “silent member” of the Congress, Jefferson, at 33, drafted the Declaration of Independence. In years following he labored to make its words a reality in Virginia. Most notably, he wrote a bill establishing religious freedom, enacted in 1786. Jefferson succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to France in 1785. -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
During his day, he truly challenged the idea of if the church was always to follow. Wolfgang Mozart pushed the creation of the freedom of speech, by breaking the barrier of only creating religious songs, but ones that sparked emotions and revolutionary ideas. -
Maximillien Robespierre
As a representative of the Third Estate, Robespierre promoted the interests of the lower classes. He and other representatives of the Third Estate joined together to form the short-lived National Assembly, which was eventually replaced by the Legislative Assembly and, later, the National Convention -
Miguel Hidalgo
On September 16, 1810—the date now celebrated as Mexican Independence Day—Hidalgo issued the “Grito de Dolores” (“Cry of Dolores”), calling for the end of Spanish rule, for racial equality, and for redistribution of land. The speech effectively launched the Mexican War of Independence (1810–21) -
Simon Bolivar
Bolívar himself led multiple expeditionary forces against the Spaniards, and between 1819 and 1822 he successfully liberated three territories—New Granada (Colombia and Panama), Venezuela, and Quito (Ecuador)—from Spanish rule.