1616:

Church declares Copernicanism "false and erroneous."

Galileo had stirred up a great deal of interest in theories that contradicted Aristotelian tradition, and conventional professors saw this as a threat to their own work. They united in an attempt to set Church authorities against him, since the Copernican theories he was developing included contradictions to Scripture.

The Church's chief theologian, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, unable to appreciate the significance of Galileo's work, saw only the danger of anything that could undermine Catholicism in its fight against Protestantism. He issued the decree against Copernicanism, though he warned Galileo in advance.

For an excellent online source concerning Galileo's life and work, visit the Galileo Project at Rice University; and be sure to visit our Who's Who project for more about Copernicus.

1133:

King Henry II of England

1326:

Louis the Great of Hungary

Louis spent much of his reign involved in wars with Venice and Naples, but he secured a measure of independence from the Diet for the himself by instituting financial laws that governed the reversion of property to the crown. He was named as successor to the Polish crown by King Casimir III, but the Poles never allowed him real authority; yet his daughter Maria and her husband Sigismund were acknowledged as their future queen and king. However, upon his death, Maria and Sigismund ruled Hungary and his daughter Jadwiga became Queen of Poland instead.

1512:

Gerardus Mercator

The innovator of the Mercator Projection, Mercator was also was a fine engraver, calligrapher, and scientific-instrument maker.

1574:

William Oughtred

Oughtred was a mathematician, Episcopal minister, and the inventor of the slide rule.

1534:

Correggio

Born Antonio Allegri , Correggio was an important painter of the school of Parma. His works, which primarily depict religious or mythological subjects, were influential in the style of Baroque artists.