February 17, 1600
1600-02-17 08:00 UTC
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Giordano Bruno is burned in Rome
The philosopher who argued for an infinite universe of other suns is executed in the Campo de' Fiori.Source ↗
What happened in this minute
Bruno was tried over seven years by the Roman Inquisition on charges including denial of core doctrines and belief in a plurality of worlds. He refused to recant and was burned in the Campo de' Fiori on the morning of 17 February 1600.
His cosmology was speculative rather than observational, but it stated something the next century would test: that the stars are suns, that the universe has no centre and no edge.
A statue erected on the site in 1889 made him a symbol of free inquiry, a reading historians consider partial but durable.
Questions and answers
- Was Bruno executed for science?
- The charges were primarily theological, though his claim of infinite worlds with other suns formed part of the case. Historians treat the simple science-versus-church reading as incomplete.
- Where did it happen?
- In the Campo de' Fiori in Rome, where a statue was raised on the site in 1889.
- How exact is the time?
- Sources place the execution in the morning; the minute shown is an approximate morning marker in UTC.