"GALILEO'S DAUGHTER"
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was more than just a scientific
giant
who faced persecution by the religious authorities.
He also struggled
with poor health, his own faith, and the challenges of
living during
a period that included both the Bubonic Plague and the
Thirty Year's War.
Through the letters from his oldest daughter, Suor Maria
Celeste (1600-1634),
we learn the details of how Galileo led a scientific
revolution under the
most difficult of circumstances. The blend of science
and humanity in
Galileo's story, like that of Yorkshire carpenter John
Harrison, whose
clocks solved the "Longitude Problem", has surprising
modern resonances,
despite intervening centuries. The speaker will
attempt to breathe life
into Galileo and Suor Maria Celeste, and the Earth-centered
world in which
they found themselves. Interested readers may further
pursue their story
in her recent book "Galileo's Daughter: A Historical
Memoir of Science,
Faith and Love".