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Galileo's Biography

Text by Megan Wilde. Plain text version edited by Ashley Fell for the Electronic Text Center. This biography is based upon information culled from The Galileo Project website.

Sections:

Early Life
Galileo and the Pendulum
Galileo On Motion
Galileo's Mechanical Devices
Galileo's Family Life
Galileo's Telescope
Galileo and the Inquisition

Galileo's Early Life

Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564.

His father, Vincenzo Galilei, was a musician.

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Galileo's mother was Giulia degli Ammannati. Galileo was the first of six (though some people believe seven) children. His family belonged to the nobility but was not rich. In the early 1570's, he and his family moved to Florence.

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The Pendulum

In 1581, Galileo began studying at the University of Pisa, where his father hoped he would study medicine. While at the University of Pisa, Galileo began his study of the pendulum while, according to legend, he watched a suspended lamp swing