Famous scientists: Copernicus

Who was he?

Born in 1473 he studied Latin, mathematics, astronomy, geography and philosophy at Krakow university in Poland, and medicine and astronomy at Padua in Italy. On his return to his native land, he became the physician, private secretary and personal advisor to his uncle the Bishop of Ermland.

Revolutionary thinking

As early as 1514 he wrote a book called 'Little Commentary' in which he stated that there is no centre of the universe and that the apparent cycle of movement of the sun is caused by the Earth revolving around it. The book was only circulated among friends as Copernicus was reluctant to publish. This was not really because he was worried about what the church might say about his revolutionary ideas but because he was a perfectionist and he thought that even after thirty six years of work his theory was not yet ready.

Legend has it that the first printed copy of his book 'De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres)' was placed in Copernicus's hands on the very day he died.

His legacy

This book is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining revelation that began the scientific revolution. Before its publication the accepted view was that Earth was stationary at the centre of the universe. Copernicus relegated the Earth to the status of a planet that not only turned once daily on its own axis but also orbited the Sun.

This representation of the heavens is called heliocentric, after the Greek word for Sun: Helios. It forever changed the place of man in the cosmos even though the Catholic Church was slow to react. It was not until Galileo supported these theories that the church issued a decree suspending 'De Revolutionibus' because it was “false and altogether opposed to Holy Scripture”. The decree was finally dropped in 1835.

Top quotes

"At rest, however, in the middle of everything is the sun."

"To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge."

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