Two of Cardano's children — Giovanni Battista and Aldo Urbano — came to ignoble ends.
Giovanni Battista, Cardano's eldest and favorite son, was tried and beheaded in 1560 for poisoning his wife, after he discovered that their three children were not his.
Aldo Urbano was a gambler, who stole money from his father, and so Gerolamo disinherited him in 1569.

Cardano moved from Pavia to Bologna, in part because he believed that the decision to execute Giovanni was influenced by Gerolamo's battles with the academic establishment in Pavia, and his colleagues' jealousy at his scientific achievements, and also because he was beset with allegations of sexual impropriety with his students.
Cardano was arrested by the Inquisition in 1570 for unknown reasons, and forced to spend several months in prison and abjure his professorship.
He moved to Rome, and received a lifetime annuity from Pope Gregory XIII (after first having been rejected by Pope Pius V) and finished his autobiography.
He was accepted in the Royal College of Physicians, and as well as practising medicine he continued his philosophical studies until his death in 1576.
Two of Cardano's children — Giovanni Battista and Aldo Urbano — came to ignoble ends. Giovanni Battista, Cardano's eldest and favorite son, was tried and beheaded in 1560 for poisoning his wife, after he discovered that their three children were not his. Aldo Urbano was a gambler, who stole money from his father, and so Gerolamo disinherited him in 1569.
Cardano moved from Pavia to Bologna, in part because he believed that the decision to execute Giovanni was influenced by Gerolamo's battles with the academic establishment in Pavia, and his colleagues' jealousy at his scientific achievements, and also because he was beset with allegations of sexual impropriety with his students. Cardano was arrested by the Inquisition in 1570 for unknown reasons, and forced to spend several months in prison and abjure his professorship. He moved to Rome, and received a lifetime annuity from Pope Gregory XIII (after first having been rejected by Pope Pius V) and finished his autobiography. He was accepted in the Royal College of Physicians, and as well as practising medicine he continued his philosophical studies until his death in 1576.
Gerolamo Cardano