Astronomers
Astronomer who kept track of planetary movement for decades
Tycho Brahe
He discovered calculus along with the laws of motion and gravity
Isaac Newton
Enlightenment thinker who was a strong advocate of freedom of speech and freedom of religion
Voltaire
Believed that humans had three natural rights – life, liberty, and property – and were capable of self-government
John Locke
Polish astronomer who kicked off the Scientific Revolution by discovering that the earth revolves around the sun
Nicolas Copernicus
He invented the first vaccine
Edward Jenner
Believed that people were naturally wicked and needed a strong monarch to maintain order
Thomas Hobbes
Enlightenment thinker who advocated for the education of women
Mary Wollstonecraft
He was the first person to use a telescope for astronomy
Galileo
He was the father of modern chemistry
Robert Boyle
Philosopher whose idea of separation of powers appears in the American Constitution
Montesquieu
He wrote The Wealth of Nations which provided the intellectual foundation for a free market economy
Adam Smith
He discovered that the planets move in ellipses instead of circles as previously believed
Johannes Kepler
He learned much about human anatomy by dissecting executed criminals
Andreas Vesalius
Focused on the justice system and argued against unfair trials, torture, and the death penalty
Cesare Beccaria
French philosopher who believed that everything should be doubted unless it could be proved by reason
Rene Descartes
His advocacy of heliocentrism got him in trouble with the Catholic Church
Galileo
His belief that experimentation was the best way to gain knowledge helped lead to the Scientific Method
Francis Bacon
Wrote that humans must sacrifice some of their natural freedom for the sake of the collective good
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
This was the term for French Enlightenment thinkers who emphasized nature, reason, happiness, and liberty