1564 Galileo Galilei was born on 15 February in Pisa, Italy, the first of
six children of Vincenzo Galilei and Giulia Ammannati.
1610 Galileo observed that Venus exhibited a full set of phases similar
to that of the Moon. The heliocentric model of the solar system
developed by Nicolaus Copernicus predicted that all phases
would be visible.
1612 Galileo observed the Sun through his telescope and saw that the
Sun had dark patches on it (what we now call sunspots). He also
observed the motion of the sunspots indicating that the Sun was
rotating on an axis. More evidence of the Copernican heliocentric
model of the solar system.
1615 A Dominican friar Niccolo Lorini, who had earlier criticized
Galileo's view in private conversations, files a written complaint
with the Inquisition against Galileo's Copernican views.
1992 Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was
handled, acknowledging the errors committed by the Catholic
Church tribunal that judged Galileos scientific positions.
The Vatican formally and publicly cleared Galileo of any
wrongdoing.