Key Terms
What is the Scientific Revolution
a major shift (1500s-1700s) where people stopped relying just on old authorities (like ancient Greeks or the Church) for understanding the world and started using observation, experiments, and math (the scientific method) to figure things out, leading to huge changes in how we see nature, astronomy, and our place in the universe.
Ptolmey
(AD 100s) An ancient Greek astronomer and geographer, he studied the skies and made maps of the Mediterranean region.
Sir Isaac Newton
is famous for his revolutionary work in physics and mathematics, most notably developing the three laws of motion, the law of universal gravitation, and a form of calculus, all detailed in his book Principia. He also made major contributions to optics, explaining that white light is made of colors, and invented the reflecting telescope, which used mirrors to create clearer images.
Francis Bacon publishes his ideas about scientific research.
1605
This group helped push for Columbus Day as a national holiday.
Italian Americans
Theory
An explanation scientists developed based on facts and Observations.
Nicolaus Copernicus
(1473-1543) Polish astronomer, his book On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres helped begin the Scientific Revolution... He is best known for his controversial heliocentric theory.
Francis Bacon
An English philosopher and statesman who is known as the "father of the scientific method". He argued that to understand the world, people should stop relying on ancient books or just arguing about ideas and instead get their hands dirty by observing, experimenting, and gathering proof.
Zacharias Janssen invented the microscope.
1590
Historians have criticized Columbus for his treatment of this group of people.
Who are Indigenous peoples?
alchemy
the forerunner of chemistry.
Tycho Brahe
(1546-1601) Tycho, for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations.
Henry the Navigator
This Portuguese prince sponsored early voyages along the coast of Africa.
Copernicus publishes his theory of the sun-centered solar system.
1543
This holiday is now celebrated instead of Columbus Day in many places.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
a step-by-step method for performing experiments and other scientific research.
Johannes Kepler
famous for his three laws of planetary motion, which describe how planets orbit the Sun in ellipses, not perfect circles, and are crucial to understanding the solar system. He's also known as the "founder of modern optics" for explaining how telescopes work and vision, establishing scientific standards, and linking physics to astronomy during the Scientific Revolution.
Vasco da Gama
This explorer reached India by sailing around the southern tip of Africa.
Galileo uses his telescope to study planets.
1609
Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day show how this can change over time as new perspectives are considered.
historical interpretation or historical understanding
Hypothesis
a specific, testable, educated guess or proposed explanation for a phenomenon.
Galileo Galilei
Galileo was a groundbreaking observer and experimenter who used tools like the telescope to prove the universe worked differently than previously believed, laying the groundwork for modern science, but he paid a heavy price for challenging tradition.
Christopher Columbus
This Italian explorer sailed for Spain and reached the Americas in 1492.
Sir Isaac Newton publishes Principia Mathematica.
1687
This was Christopher Columbus’s main reason for sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean.
to find a shorter route to Asia (the East Indies), to gain a trade monopoly (or wealth and prestige).