Historical Astronomers in Context

Galileo Galilei (February 15, 1564 – January 8, 1642) made great strides with astronomy with his telescope. He showed that many of the heavenly bodies were not perfect as many had thought them to be. He saw that the moon had craters and valleys in it and that the sun had little imperfections in it as well. His view of Venus’s phases, similar to the Moon phases, was great evidence that the solar system followed a heliocentric model. 

On April 13, 1598, the Edict of Nantes was signed, ending the French Wars of Religion between the Roman Catholics and Huguenots that had lasted for 36 years. 

On September 6, 1566, Suleyman the Magnificent, leader of the Ottoman Empire for 46 years, died at the Battle of Szigetvár. Despite his death, the Ottoman Empire remained strong.

Sir Francis Drake was born in 1540 and died on January 28, 1596. He was an English sailor known for fighting against the Spanish Armada for England.

It was interesting to see that although we may be focused on the evolution of astronomy, during this same time period, many other important events are happening too. These events in their own right have also shaped and defined why the modern world is the way it is now. With the complexity of the history of the world, its eye-opening to see how so many events have occurred for the world to become the way it is now.