Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance polymath who revolutionized astronomy by proposing that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system. He also made contributions to mathematics, economics, medicine, and canon law. He studied at various universities in Poland and Italy, where he learned classical languages, mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. He became a canon of the Warmian Cathedral chapter and a doctor of canon law. He also served as a diplomat, governor, and administrator for the church and the Polish king. He spent most of his life in Royal Prussia, a semi-autonomous region of the Kingdom of Poland. He wrote his magnum opus, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), in which he presented his heliocentric theory, over several decades. He delayed publishing it until 1543, the year of his death, fearing the criticism and controversy it would provoke. His book was banned by the Catholic Church and condemned by Protestant theologians, but it also inspired many later astronomers and scientists, such as Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, and Newton, who built on his ideas and developed the modern scientific worldview. Copernicus is widely regarded as one of the greatest astronomers and one of the fathers of modern science.