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340 BCE
Aristotle
Before the scientific revolution, most people still believed the primitive ideas of Aristotle. Aristotle was way before the scientific revolution, and he based his ideas off beliefs and magic. Aristotle also revolutionized how people where taught for years, until the Renaissance era. He also influenced many later scientists. Aristotle is revolutionary because he influenced almost everything that happened for 100's of years. -
Period: 340 BCE to
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
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100
Ptolemy's Geocentric Theory
Ptolemy finds that the Earth is the center of the universe. Scholars found this theory believable because things like asteroids fall towards the earth and it looked like everything rotated around the earth. This discovery lead to scientific advancement many years later because if Ptolemy did not make this theory, then people like Copernicus would be starting from scratch, without any theory to prove wrong or right. -
1214
Roger Bacon Sparks The Scientific Revolution
Roger Bacon was an English philosopher and a well known scientist of the 1200s. Bacon studied at the University of Oxford, and he also studied in Paris. He was one of the earliest people to favor scientific experimentation over ancient beliefs. Bacon being known for his teaching skills, was called Doctor Mirablis-Wonderful Teacher. Bacon was born in 1214, the specific date is unknown. -
1300
Renaissance
When the Renaissance started around 1300, people felt that they could start questioning ancient beliefs and ideas. People felt more comfortable trying to prove these things with science rather the old ways of blaming things on magic. -
1543
Nicolaus Copernicus
Copernicus was one of the first scientists of his time to abandon Ptolemy's geocentric theory. Instead of the geocentric theory, Copernicus developed the heliocentric theory, which meant the sun was the center of the universe rather than the earth, which was Ptolemy's theory. Copernicus was not the first scientist to propose a heliocentric theory, but he was the first to come up with solid evidence for the heliocentric theory. -
1543
Andreas Vesalius
Vesalius was one of the first people of his time to correctly understand the human body and how it works. Vesalius was also a strong supporter of the scientific method, which is what he used to understand the human body. Vesalius is revolutionary because of his understanding of the human body. Without his understanding, medical advancements would not have been made as quickly as they were. Vesalius also was different from many people of his time because of his use of the scientific method. -
Johannes Kepler
Kepler was the first scientist to correctly explain the heliocentric theory, which he did along with Galileo. Though scientists like Copernicus were correct about the heliocentric theory, Kepler was the first to explain it in full, and correct detail. Kepler also explained how the telescope worked, and how advancements could be made on the telescope. The significance that Kepler had to the scientific world was that he improved the telescope (like Galileo) and he confirmed things in full. -
Galileo Galilei
Galileo was one of the most revolutionary people of his time, due to his development of the telescope and his key discoveries. Galileo confirmed Copernicus's heliocentric theory, along with Kepler. Galileo was also revolutionary in the way that he proves things. Galileo proved things with observations and mathematics, which was different for the time period. Galileo's observations and improvements on the telescope lead to new discoveries not only by him, but by many other astronomers. -
Francis Bacon
Bacon was an English Philosopher who is best known for being a strong advocate for the scientific method, which was very criticized at the time. Bacon always felt strongly about using science and experiments to prove things correct. Bacon believed that science could become a tool "for the betterment of humankind". Bacon was correct with that statement, since science has helped prove many things and it has helped make important medical advancements. -
William Harvey
Harvey is best known for his contributions to anatomy and he is the first one to explain how blood is pumped from the heart throughout the human body. He was also a supporter of the scientific method and using observations and experimentation to prove something correct. Harvey was influential because if it wasn't for his work on circulation, then medical advancements would not have been made as quickly. Harvey's work was similar to Vesalius's in the medical advancement field. -
René Descartes
Descartes was a French philosopher and mathematician who was an early advocate of the scientific method. Descartes is known for saying that he would not believe any scientific thing unless it was proven with observations and experiments. He also was very revolutionary in the fact that he always thought that the scientific method would be the way that people thought for many years beyond his life. He also published Discourse On Method which was about proving things with science. -
Robert Boyle
Boyle is regarded as the founder of modern chemistry, and was a strong supporter of the scientific method. Boyle is best known for his laws of density and how pressure and volume interact with each other. Without Robert Boyle, the scientific method would not have advanced as far as it did in England, Ireland, and countries surrounding this area. Boyle was also revolutionary in the fact that he created chemistry and forever changed the way people thought about density and gas. -
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek
Leeuwenhoek is best known for his work with the microscope and his discovery of "animalcules" which is now known as bacteria. Leeuwenhoek's discovery is considered one of the most important things that a Dutch scientist has ever discovered. Leeuwenhoek is revolutionary because without his discovery, then research on very small organisms would not be advanced as it is today. -
Isaac Newton
Newton is considered one of the most prestigious scientists of all time and was a key figure of the Scientific Revolution. Newton is most famous for his laws of gravity, which are still used today. Newton challenged what many people thought, and proved his theories with facts, like Galileo. Newton is also credited with creating essential theories of calculus, along with the German scientist Gottfried Von Leibniz. -
Antoine Lavoisier
Lavoisier, similar to Robert Boyle, is considered the "father of modern chemistry". Lavoisier was a pioneer of chemistry because he was such a pioneer of chemistry in France, and Boyle was a pioneer of chemistry in England and Ireland. He also named Oxygen and Hydrogen and discovered different things about these two elements and other elements. Lavoisier was revolutionary because if he did't make these discoveries about the elements, then science could be much farther behind than it is today.
