Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)

Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Thorn, Poland on February 19, 1473 . He came from a wealthy family, and received a good education at the University of Cracow, especially in mathematics and astronomy.

This including mathematics with Euclidean geometry and astronomy taught by Albert Brudzewski and canon law at the university.

He went to Italy and continued his study in law and medicine as well as astronomy and returned to Cracow in 1503. Later Copernicus worked as church administrator and as a doctor.

He read the ideas of ancient Greek astronomers and mathematicians. These learned men believed Earth was the center of the universe and that all he other heavenly bodies, including the sun, revolved around it.

Meanwhile Copernicus continued his private research and kept a low profile and eventually made public of his theory.

In 1512, Copernicus published a description of his ‘heliocentric’ model of the solar system. In this model, the sun was the center of the solar system.

The same idea had been proposed by Aristarchus and mathematician Pythagoras but Copernicus worked out his system in full mathematician detail.

From 1514 Copernicus started the description of his new astronomical theory. In 1530, Copernicus completed and gave to the world his remarkable work De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium or On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres.

His work explains the fundamentals of the theory that the Erath revolves around the Sun, contrary to the general belief that the sun revolves around the Earth.

He claims that heliocentrism provides a simpler or more coherent explanation of the solar system.

The idea strongly influenced Galileo, who 80 years later was able to demonstrate it with his telescope.

Nicolaus Copernicus died in May 24, 1543. Only a few weeks later his great book De Revolutionibus was published.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)