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1543
Copernicus
Copernicus argued that Earth turned daily on its axis and that gradual shifts of this axis accounted for the changing seasons -
bacon
defined the nature of the scientific method,credited with ushering in the new early modern era of human understanding,one of the first ones to include experimentation in sciences -
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei was a philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. He had made contributions to the sciences of motion, astronomy, to strength of materials, and to the development of scientific methods. He made the telescopic discovery of the four largest moons of Jupiter. -
Rene Descartes
Descartes' works have been variously received and valued. Among the learned of his day he was considered to be a top mathematician, the developer of a new and comprehensive physics or theory of nature (including living things), and the proposer of a new metaphysics. -
Isaac Newton
the three laws of motion
invented calculus
telescope -
John Locke
Locke based his Two Treatises around the idea of a social contract in which individuals consent to surrendering some of their rights in exchange for protection and order. American Revolutionaries adopted this notion and others, particularly in the Declaration of Independence. -
Montesquieu
He argued as Locke and Thomas Jefferson that all people were created equal. If the King did not have the right to rule, then the people had the right to rebel which they did. Montesquieu's writings help to create a desire for freedom and helped to spark the French Revolution. -
Denis Diderot
Diderot's largest contribution to the Enlightenment era was by far his publication of "Encyclopedia or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts." In this largely successful work, Diderot explored all human knowledge and provided readers with a deep analysis of nearly all aspects of human existence -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau's theories of sovereignty and law had a direct influence on French revolutionaries such as Robespierre, and were blamed for some of the worst excesses of the Terror in France. -
Voltaire
His books and pamphlets contained scores of assaults on church authority and clerical power. They criticized French political institutions too, and many incorporated elaborate defenses of civil liberty. Voltaire's ideas ultimately found expression in the French and American revolutions -
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). -
Adam Smith
Finally, in March 1776, Smith published An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. This massive work of almost 1,000 pages was based on his exhaustive research and personal observations. Smith attacked government intervention in the economy and provided a blueprint for free markets and free trade. -
George Washington
General George Washington led the American army to victory during the Revolutionary War. Despite having little practical experience in managing large, conventional armies, Washington proved to be a capable and resilient leader of the American military forces during the Revolutionary War. -
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
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was one of the most influential, popular and prolific composers of the classical period. He composed over 600 works, including some of the most famous and loved pieces of symphonic, chamber, operatic, and choral music. -
Maximillien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre was a radical democrat and key figure in the French Revolution of 1789. Robespierre briefly presided over the influential Jacobin Club, a political club based in Paris. He also served as president of the National Convention and on the Committee of Public Safety -
Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and key figure in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–21). Hidalgo is best remembered for his speech, the “Grito de Dolores” (“Cry of Dolores”), which called for the end of Spanish colonial rule in Mexico -
Simon Bolivar
What role did Simón Bolívar play in the Latin American independence movement? Simón Bolívar penned two political treatises—the Manifiesto de Cartagena (“Cartagena Manifesto”) and the Carta de Jamaica (“Letter from Jamaica”)—encouraging the people of South America to rebel against Spanish colonial rule