Submitted By: Morghacaylor
Date Submitted: 03/20/2014 8:48 PM
Category: Social Issues
His Life:
Throughout history people have always looked up at the sky and wondered
about the universe. Some just wonder while others attempt to solve this mystery.
One of the people who had endeavored to solve it was Nicolaus Copernicus.
Copernicus was born in the present day town of Torun, Poland in
February of 1473. While still a young boy, Copernicus was put in custody of his
uncle when his father died. His uncle made sure that his nephew got the best
education they could obtain. This is how Copernicus was able to enter the
University of Krakow, which was well known for its mathematics, and astronomy
programs. After finishing in Krakow, he was inspired to further his education by
going to the University of Bologna in Italy. While there, he roomed with
Domenico Maria de Novara, the mathematics professor. In 1500, Copernicus
lectured in Rome and in the next year, obtained permission to study medicine at
Padua. Before returning to Poland, he received a doctorate in canon law from the
University of Ferrara.
Copernicus lived with his uncle in his bishopric palace. While he stayed
there he published his first book which was a translation of letters written by
the 7th century writer, Theophylactus of Simocatta. After that he wrote an
astronomical discourse that laid the foundation of his heliocentric theory; the
theory that the sun is the center of our solar system. However, it was 400 years
before it was published.
After leaving his uncle, he wrote a treatise on money, and began the
work for which he is most famous, On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres,
which took him almost 15 years to write. It is ironic that what he devoted a
good part of his life would not be published until he was on his deathbed.
His Theory:
To understand the contribution Copernicus made to the astrological
community, you first need to understand the theory that had been accepted at the
time of Copernicus.
The question of the...
People in History: Nicolaus Copernicus