Punished Scientists:Galileo Galilei
Science: Year 5 & 6 National Curriculum, topic 11.1.3
Punished Scientists:Galileo Galilei
Sometimes scientists have been punished for their ideas, even when those ideas were supported by evidence.
Galileo Galilei
- A famous example of a scientist being punished is Galileo Galilei.
- Galileo was an Italian astronomer that lived from 1564 to 1642.
- Galileo worked out from his observations that Sun was the centre of the Universe.
- At the time, people believed the Earth was the centre of the Universe.
Galileo Galilei imprisoned
- The Church leaders thought Galileo was going against the religious beliefs at the time.
- Going against religious beliefs was called ‘heresy’.
- Heresy was against the law.
- Galileo’s works were banned and he was imprisoned.
- Over time, scientists have gathered lots more evidence to show that Galileo was right.
Test yourself on Punished Scientists:Galileo Galilei
The leaders of what institution thought Galileo Galilei was breaking the law?
What word is used to describe when someone goes against religious beliefs?