Cat's Historical Doodles

Galileo Galilei was born on 15 February 1565, in Pisa. He was the first of six children of Vincenzo Galilei, a famous lutenist, composer and music theorist, and Giulia Galilei. Galileo became an accomplished lutenist himself and learned early from his father a scepticism for established authority, the value of quantified experimentation, as well as the results expected from a combination of mathematics and experiment. When Galileo was 8, the family moved to Florence, but he was left with Jacopo Borghini for two years. He was educated in the Vallombrosa Abbey. Despite being a genuinely pious Catholic, Galileo fathered three children out of wedlock: Virginia (born in 1600), Livia (born 1601) and Vincenzo (born in 1606). Because of their illegitimate birth, Galileo considered his daughters unmarriageable: they were accepted by the convent of San Matteo in Arcetri, where they became nuns. Vincenzo was later legitimised as the legal heir. Although Galileo considered being a pri...

Catherine (Italian: Caterina) was born on 13 April 1519, in Florence. She was the only child of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and his wife, Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, Countess of Boulogne. According to a contemporary chronicler, when Catherine was born, her parents were as pleased as if it has been a boy . However, within a month of Catherine's birth, both her parents were dead: Madeleine died on 28 April, possibly of puerperal fever, and Lorenzo died on 4 May. King Francis I of France wanted Catherine to be raised at the French court, but Pope Leo X had other plans for her. Catherine was first cared for by her paternal grandmother, Alfonsina Orsini. After her death in 1520, Catherine was raised by her aunt, Clarice Strozzi. The death of the Pope in 1521 interrupted Medici power until the election of Pope Clement VII in 1523. Clement housed Catherine in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, in Florence. In 1527, the Medici were overthrown in Florence; Catherin...

Barbara was born on 30 April 1539, in Vienna. She was daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and his wife, Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. In 1547, Barbara and her sisters Magdalena, Margareta, Helena and Johanna moved to Innsbruck, where they received a deeply religious education. Even though Barbara was considered plain, she received several proposals for her hand, due to her connection to the Austrian and Spanish courts. The chosen one was Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, and in 1565, their marriage was celebrated with much splendour. Barbara and Alfonso had a happy marriage, but they remained childless. In 1570 and 1571, after an earthquake, the Duchess of Ferrara decided to use her own income to support young girls without parents. She was also responsible for the foundation of the Conservatore delle Orfane di Santa Barbara , which was very much appreciated by the population of Ferrara. Barbara, deeply religious, was in constant touch with the Jesuits but, at the same ti...