Nicolaus Copernicus

Timeline

1. 1473–1496Toruń · EuropeBorn on 19 February 1473 in Toruń on the Vistula River, son of a wealthy merchant; his father died early around 1483, and he was raised by his uncle Lucas Watzenrode (later Bishop of Warmia). In 1491 he enrolled at the University of Kraków, receiving a basic education in mathematics and astronomy and developing a keen interest in the stars. In 1495 his uncle arranged for him to become a member of the Warmia cathedral chapter, laying the foundation for a stable income and time for scholarship, and in 1496 he went to Italy for further study.
2. 1496–1503Bologna · EuropeIn 1496 he went to the University of Bologna to study canon law, while also studying under the astronomer Domenico Maria Novara, carrying out practical astronomical observations and beginning to question the Ptolemaic system. In 1500 he went to Rome to lecture on mathematics, in 1501 he moved to Padua to study medicine, and in 1503 he obtained a doctorate in canon law at Ferrara. This period of study spanning seven years gave Copernicus a combined training in theology, law, medicine, and astronomy, laying the multidisciplinary foundation for his later theoretical innovations.
3. 1503–1530Frombork · EuropeAfter returning home he assisted his uncle Lucas in episcopal affairs, while also serving as physician and administrator. Around 1510 he settled at Frombork Cathedral, using an annex for astronomical observations. He gradually became convinced that the geocentric theory had fundamental flaws, and around 1514 wrote the 'Commentariolus', which circulated in manuscript form among a small circle of European scholars, preliminarily setting out the core ideas of heliocentrism: the sun is stationary at the center of the universe, the earth revolves around the sun, and the earth's rotation causes the alternation of day and night.
4. 1530–1543Frombork · EuropeHe completed the first draft of 'De revolutionibus orbium coelestium' around 1530, but hesitated to publish it for fear of the Church's reaction and of ridicule. In 1539 the young Wittenberg mathematician Georg Joachim Rheticus traveled all the way to Frombork to visit him and earnestly persuaded Copernicus to publish. Rheticus first published the 'Narratio Prima' in 1540 to announce the theory, arousing wide attention. In 1543 'De revolutionibus' was formally published in Nuremberg and dedicated to Pope Paul III. According to tradition, Copernicus touched the first printed copy with his own hands on the last day of his life, and died on 24 May 1543.