Dear Cecil,
Why do we know Galileo Galilei by his first name rather than his last name, unlike other luminaries of his time??
Malcolm A. Leissring
Irvine, CA
Just testing. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!
And why haven’t we heard more about his sister, Madonna Galilei?
Aren’t Galileo and Galilei the same name, just inflected? I think that was common, back then.
rocks
Hmmm…
Leonardo Da Vinci
Michelangelo Buonarotti
Dante Alighieri
I dunno, but I’d say Mr. Galilei is in pretty good company.
I may also add Tycho Brahe to the list.
Then of course there is Wladziu Valentino Liberace.
The answer is obvious:
How many Galileo’s do you know?
He’s the only person ever to have been named that.
That’s a hell of an assumption to make there, Mjollnir. You think his folks just made the name up? “Gee, what sounds kinda funky and astronomerish? Mmmm, how 'bout Galileo?”
And I sincerely doubt nobody ever admired him enough to name their kid after him, either.
Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!
And don’t forget Amerigo Vespucci.
Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination.
Maybe it was an Italian thing?
With 4 syllables per first name, maybe they just wanted to speed up conversations???
Are you driving with your eyes open or are you using The Force? - A. Foley
“Galileo Galilei” indicates him to be “Galileo, of the family of Galileo,” so, unless the “Galilei” had been a family name for some time, I would guess either his father or grandfather was also named Galileo.
Does anyone know if the name Galileo came from Galilee, home of Jesus Christ?
“In my nightmares I am chased by algorithms”–crewman Celes, ST:V