The French Revolution began in 1789. It is widely considered one of the most important events in European history, particularly in the history of European transition from absolutism to constituional monarchy to republicanism; however, like many revolutions, it ended up consuming itself and resulting in a dictatorship.

While its true that Thomas Jefferson did write in the Declaration of Independence that all men have a right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," he was taking his ideas from the earlier writings of John Locke. Locke argued against governmental absolutism and firmly believed in the rights of men to govern themselves. He argued that the only legitimate form of government came from the consent of the people and that all men have a right to life, liberty, and (private) property.

The Congress of Vienna was a meeting of various European heads of states in 1815 in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The Congress was focused on two major issues: reordering Europe and protecting the "balance of power," and ensuring the continued legitimacy of the absolutist and constitutional monarchs of Europe.

The Leviathan was published in 1651 and was written by English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. In Leviathan, Hobbes argues that mankind is inherently selfish and inclined towards aggression and disorder. He purports that there exists a “state of nature” of mankind that is, primarily, the “war of all against all.” In order to prevent mankind from constantly warring with one another, Hobbes argues for an absolute monarch and a rigidly structured social order. Hobbes can be seen as the philosophical opposite of John Locke, who argued that mankind was inherently good and that absolute government corrupted those in power into serving solely their own interests. These two political philosophies have clashed ever since, particularly in Europe, and both remain deeply influential in contemporary political thought. 

Francis Bacon was an English thinker during the Scientific Revolution. He might even reasonably be called "The Father of the Scientific Revolution" for his work on the scientific method and empiricism. The scientific method established an inductive method of inquiry that focuses on the procedure of scientific research to ensure it is carried out free from bias and outside influence to produce the most accurate results. Bacon's methods are still relevant and practiced today.

The heliocentric model of the solar system states that, contrary to earlier understanding, the Earth is not the center of the Universe. Rather, the sun is the center of our solar system. Earth and all the other planets revolve around the sun. This model was first proposed by Nicholas Copernicus and expanded upon by Galileo and Johannes Kepler.

Prior to the research done by Copernicus in the "revolutions of the heavenly spheres," the Earth was thought to be the center of the universe. The Sun, the planets, and all of the stars were thought to revolve around the Earth. Copernicus proved this to be untrue; however, his work was deemed heretical by the Catholic church and would take some time to be accepted outside of scientific circles.

Deism emerged for the first time in Europe during the Scientific Revolution. As scientists and thinkers began to understand more about the world, the mysticism of earlier periods began to fade and was replaced with growing comprehension and awareness. Deism is the belief that while God created the world, He did so with certain rules and laws that cannot be broken and now does not interfere in the lives of men or the existence of the world. This is called the belief in the "watchmaker" God.

The growth of Humanism, which emphasized the ability of human beings to think rationally and solve problems using the logic, evidence, and critical thought recovered from the ancient world, can be understood as a precursor to the Scientific Revolution. 

Isaac Newton is one of the most important figures of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. He discovered gravity and was, with Leibniz, the co-inventor of calculus. He also is credited with discovering the three laws of motion, which remain extremely important to our understanding of physics and the universe.