Nicolaus Copernicus Birthday, February 19, 1473

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a Renaissance astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun at its center. This heliocentric theory was revolutionary, challenging the prevailing earth-centric model endorsed by the Church and scholars for centuries. Copernicus' work laid the foundational stones for modern astronomy, significantly influencing later astronomers like Galileo and Kepler. Born in Toruń, Poland, Copernicus was well-educated, studying canon law, mathematics, and medicine at various European universities. Beyond his astronomical work, he was also a cleric, physician, and economist, showing a versatile intellect and wide-ranging interests. His main work, "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), published just before his death in 1543, was groundbreaking. It argued for a heliocentric universe with the Earth rotating daily on its axis and revolving yearly around the Sun, challenging the millennia-old view of Earth's central position in the universe. On his last days, he was on a stroke-induced coma. Legend says, he awoke, saw his finally printed book, and died peacefully. He also contributed to the field of economics, formulating a principle that later became known as Gresham's Law. It took over a century for his heliocentric model to gain widespread acceptance, paving the way for the Scientific Revolution. thttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus Art&Text🫶ChatGPT.