Who discovered that the Earth turns?
Michael Gray
Updated on May 09, 2026
February 3, 1851:
Léon Foucault
Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (UK: /ʒɒ̃ ˈbɛərnɑːr ˌleɪɒ̃ ˈfuːkoʊ/, US: /ˌʒɒ̃ bɛərˈnɑːr leɪˌɒ̃ fuːˈkoʊ/; French: [ʒɑ̃ bɛʁnaʁ leɔ̃ fuko]; 18 September 1819 – 11 February 1868) was a French physicist best known for his demonstration of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of Earth's rotation.
› wiki › Léon_Foucault
Earth rotates
Earth's rotation or Earth's spin is the rotation of planet Earth around its own axis, as well as changes in the orientation of the rotation axis in space. Earth rotates eastward, in prograde motion. As viewed from the north pole star Polaris, Earth turns counterclockwise.
› wiki › Earth's_rotation