From the sparse information I could find, it seems that the word crossed over in the 1450s from the sciences into everyday language to refer to the rotation of heavenly bodies. It was a small step from there to say that political changes were similar to a rotation in the political body, so to speak. The most widespread first use was in the Glorious Revolution, which was in 1688.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/revolution

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=revolution

These dictionaries are always stingy with their sources, but if you have more time I'm sure you can dig deeper.