Galileo – condemned for being right

Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer known as the “father of modern science”, stood trial for the second time on 13 February 1633 for the heresy of proclaiming that the Earth revolves around the Sun. He had revolutionized astronomy using an improved telescope to discover Jupiter’s moons, Venus’s phases, and lunar craters but his support for heliocentrism led to life imprisonment by the Catholic Church.   His birth date varies by a day but on 16 February 1564