Galileo

As well as being a scientist, Galileo was interested a in painting and music. He started his studies b at medical school in Padua. Unlike most scientists at that time, who usually relied c on discussing the facts, not trying to prove them, he recognized the importance d of doing experiments to prove the facts. He is famous e for dropping different weights from the Tower of Pisa to prove that all bodies fall at the same rate, though this is probably not a true story. Through practice, he also became good f at observing the stars, and identified craters on the Moon, sunspots, and the moons of Jupiter. As a result g of studying the planet Venus, he succeeded h in proving that Copernicus was correct, and that the Earth moved around the Sun. Unfortunately, the Church authorities accused him i of publishing unacceptable ideas. In the end he was forced to choose j between being punished by the Church, or denying his own ideas. He spent most of the last nine years of his life imprisoned in his own house.