The Scientific Revolution was the period when new methods and discoveries transformed European understanding of nature. Copernicus placed the Sun at the centre of the cosmos, Vesalius corrected ancient anatomy through dissection, and Galileo used the telescope to observe the heavens and argued for the Copernican system. Kepler worked out the laws of planetary motion, Francis Bacon and Descartes proposed new approaches to knowledge, and Harvey described the circulation of blood. Learned bodies such as the Royal Society spread results through publication. The period culminated in Isaac Newton's synthesis of motion and gravitation, which laid the foundations of classical physics.
Before and after
- from 1542 to 1801Kingdom of Ireland
- 14 February 1542Founding of Guadalajara
- 15 October 1542Birth of Akbar
- 8 December 1542Birth of Mary, Queen of Scots
- from 1543 to 1687Scientific Revolution
- 1543De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
- 1543Copernicus publishes On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
- 1543Vesalius publishes De humani corporis fabrica
- 24 May 1543Death of Nicolaus Copernicus
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 6 August 1538Founding of Bogotá
- 1541Founding of Santiago
- from 1547 to 1721Tsardom of Russia
- from 26 July 1581 to 19 January 1795Dutch Republic
- 1623Founding of Barbados
- 29 March 1693Founding of Curitiba
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.