On May 24, 1543, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus dies in what is now Frombork, Poland. The father of modern astronomy, he was the first modern European scientist to propose that Earth and other planets revolve around the sun. read more
Copernicus first saw a printed copy of his masterpiece,"De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium", translated into"On the Revolutions," while on his deathbed in 1543. His heliocentric conclusion contested the popular geocentric theory, which was supported by the Roman Catholic Church at the time. read more
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on 19 February 1473 in the city of Thorn (modern Toruń), in the province of Royal Prussia, in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. His father was a merchant from Kraków and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy Toruń merchant. Nicolaus was the youngest of four children. read more