Who was this man?

Galileo Galilei, known widely as Galileo, was a true renaissance man of the 15th and 16th centuries(15 February 1564 - 8 January 1642). He is known as the "father" of multiple disciplines from observational astronomy to physics and the scientific method. Some have even called him the "father of science."

Galileo, as a young man, considered a career in the priesthood; however, at the urging of his father, Vincenzo, he enrolled at the University of Pisa, studying medicine rather than mathematics, because a career in medicine was more lucrative. However, after attending a lecture on geometry he determined to make mathematics and natural philosophy his course of studies. In 1589 he was appointed to the chair of mathematics in Pisa, and after this he was on his way, making significant discoveries in fundamental and applied science and gaining, year-by-year, an ever-enlarging reputation in multiple disciplines. In later years his transcendent genius was to cause him significant trouble, especially with the catholic church.