The Scientific Revolution (1550-1700) transformed European intellectual life through empirical observation and mathematical reasoning. This period fundamentally altered how scholars in cities like Rome, Oxford, and Prague approached understanding the natural world.

Key Figures and Discoveries

• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) published De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543) in Nuremberg, proposing a heliocentric model challenging geocentric doctrine
• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) used the telescope to observe Jupiter's moons in 1610, providing evidence for Copernican theory
• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) developed three laws of planetary motion, demonstrating elliptical orbits rather than perfect circles
• Isaac Newton (1642-1727) formulated universal gravitation and calculus, published in Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687) at Cambridge University

Methodological Advances

Scientists abandoned reliance on ancient authorities. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) advocated the experimental method in London, emphasizing systematic observation. The barometer, invented by Evangelista Torricelli in Florence (1643), measured atmospheric pressure at 760 millimeters—establishing quantitative analysis as essential.

The Royal Society of London, founded in 1660, received its Royal Charter in 1662, institutionalizing collaborative scientific research. This revolution replaced medieval scholasticism with reproducible experimentation, establishing foundations for modern science.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Scientific Revolution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Revolution