Galileo was a devoted Catholic, a gifted astronomer, philosopher and inventor. He was also a non-conformist, who was tried and convicted for crimes against the Catholic Church. From one extreme to the other, Galileo made a mark on science and the human race. He earned a place in history that will not be forgotten. .
Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy on May 4, 1564. In 1570, his family moved to Florence. There, Galileo lived through his teenage years. At age 17, Galileo went to the University of Pisa to study medicine, the field his father wanted him to follow. He stayed in medical school long enough to invent a device called a pulsilogia (Wallace 2-9). This was a tool that was used to measure a patient's pulse. Galileo designed it based upon the pendulum. Eventually Galileo left medical school. While at the University of Pisa, Galileo discovered his interest in Physics and Mathematics. He wanted to return to his main interest, which was Mathematics. In 1585, he decided to leave the university without a degree to pursue a job as a teacher. Then he spends four years looking for a job; during this time, he tutored privately and wrote on some discoveries that he had made. In 1589, Galileo was given the job of professor of Mathematics at the University of Pisa. His contract was not renewed in 1592, but received another job at the University of Padua as the chair of Mathematics; his main duties were to teach Geometry and Astrology (Ferguson). Galileo taught at the university for eighteen years. During his last years at the University of Padua, Galileo heard about a new invention called the telescope. At Padua, he built a telescope that was 20 times as powerful as the one that was first invented (Crombie). Galileo used this for astronomical purposes. During the time this telescope was built, the belief of most people, including the Catholic Church, was that the Earth was the center of the universe.