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Nicolaus Copernicus Facts

Nicolaus Copernicus Facts
Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer, mathematician and scientist born in the 15th century. He identified the fact that the sun, rather than our earth, was the center of our universe. Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19th, 1473 in Torun, Poland. He was the youngest of four children born to merchant parents. When only 10 years old, Nicolaus' father passed away and his uncle, Bishop of Varmia Lucas Watzenrode decided Nicolaus' education was his responsibility. Nicolaus entered the University of Kracow in 1491, and graduated in 1494. His first job was as a canon at Frombork's Cathedral in Torun. This position allowed him to continue his education in his free time, leading to his eventual heliocentric model of the universe.
Interesting Nicolaus Copernicus Facts:
Nicolaus Copernicus' mother was Barbara Watzenrode. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant.
Nicolaus' father was Nicolaus Copernicus Sr. He was a merchant of copper.
Nicolaus had three older siblings. His older brother was Andreas Copernicus, a canon. His sister Barbara was a Benedictine nun and a convent prioress before she died. His other sister Katharina married a Torun city councilor and had five children.
Nicolaus Copernicus attended four universities including the University of Krackow, the University of Bologna, the University of Padua, and the University of Ferrara.
Nicolaus Copernicus studied mathematics, painting, astronomy, canon law, and medicine.
Nicolaus Copernicus passed the canon law exam on the first try.
It is believed that Nicolaus Copernicus could speak Latin, German, Polish, Greek and Italian.
Nicolaus Copernicus' research into the universe led him to read Regiomontus' Epitome of the Almagest. This book gave an alternative to Claudius Ptolemy's model of the universe, which was generally accepted as true at the time.
By 1508 Nicolaus Copernicus had begun to create his model of the planetary system, suggesting the sun instead of our earth was the center of the universe.
Nicolaus was not the first astronomer to suggest the sun as the center of the universe. Earlier astronomer's ideas were not accepted because the Roman Catholic Church did not accept them.
Nicolaus model of the universe was accepted whereas earlier models had not been because his was more detailed and accurate. He also had a better formula for the calculation of planet's positions at different times of the year.
Nicolaus Copernicus wrote a 40 page book in 1514 called the Sketch of Hypothesis Made by Nicolaus Copernicus on the Heavenly Motions. It summarized his model of the universe.
Nicolaus Copernicus suggested that planets don't revolve around a fixed point, the earth is the center of the orbit of the moon, the sun is the universe's center and everything rotates around the sun, stars do not move, and that the earth rotates around the sun which causes its' movement throughout the year.
Nicolaus showed that only34 circles were necessary to illustrate the motion of planets.
The Roman Catholic Church criticized Nicolaus' theories. It went so far as to ban Nicolaus' book De revolutionibus after he died. It remained a forbidden book for almost three hundred years.
Nicolaus Copernicus died on May 24th, 1543.
Nicolaus Copernicus never got married and never had any children of his own.


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