nicolaus copernicus on the revolutions of heavenly spheres

Little is known of his mother, Barbara Watzenrode, who appears to have predeceased her husband. When Copernicus was ten years old, his father, a wealthy businessman and copper trader, died. A modern view is that he was an ethnically German Pole. On account of geographical and historical uncertainties, it remains a matter of dispute whether Copernicus was German or Polish.

Toruń City Hall / Photo by Pko, Wikimedia CommonsĬopernicus was born in 1473 in Toruń (Thorn). It has been equated it with the initiation of “ the scientific revolution.” Biographical Sketch Copernicus’ concept marked a scientific revolution. That change, often known as the Copernican revolution, had important and far-reaching implications for not only science and cosmology but also theology, philosophy, and culture, and for the relationship between religion and science. He provided the first modern formulation of a heliocentric (Sun-centered) theory of the solar system in his epochal book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium(On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). However, it is for his work in astronomy and cosmology that he has been remembered and accorded a place as one of the most important scientific figures in human history. Amid his extensive accomplishments, he treated astronomy as an avocation. He was a mathematician, astronomer, jurist, physician, classical scholar, governor, administrator, diplomat, economist, and soldier. Nicolaus Copernicus (Febru– May 24, 1543) was one of the great polymaths of his age. His work marked the starting point of modern astronomy and cosmology. Nicolaus Copernicus (1580) / Wikimedia Commons

Nicolaus copernicus on the revolutions of heavenly spheres