This Day in History: 1564-02-15

Galileo Italian astronomer and scientist who played a major role in the scientific revolution of the late Renaissance, Galileo Galilei was born on this day in 1564. Persecuted by the church, although not burned at the stake like fellow Italian scientist Giordano Bruno, Galieo has became a symbol of the great struggle between world views leaning towards religious faith or scientific reason. Stephen Hawking once caid that Galileo influenced the birth of modern science more than anyone else, while Albert Einstein once called him the father of modern science.