Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), better known by his first name alone, was an Italian Renaissance scientist and philosopher whose support for the Copernican sun-centered model of the universe brought condemnation by the Catholic Church and led to his living the last years of his life under house arrest.

In 1992, Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was handled, and officially conceded that the Earth was not stationary. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI praised Galileo's contributions to astronomy.