Bernardino Telesio was an Italian philosopher and natural scientist. While his natural theories were later disproven, his emphasis on observation made him the "first of the moderns" who eventually developed the scientific method. November 17, 1509 – 1588; died at about 78. Alive at the same time as William Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Martin Luther, and Niccolò Machiavelli. Wiki link