Timeline: Nicolaus Copernicus

Feb 19, 1473

Birth of a genius

Nicolaus Copernicus (Koppernigk) was born in Torun, Poland & had a wealthy family. His parents were Nicolaus Koppernigk (who Copernicus was named after) & his mother, Barbara Watzenrode. His three older siblings were Katharina, Andreas, & Barbara.

1483

Mama i tata

Copernicus was only 10 years old when he lost his father, but very shortly after, he lost his mother. His mother was only 43 when she passed, & his father was in his mid forties. It's unknown. His father was a merchant from Krakow, & his mother was the daughter of a merchant. His uncle, Lucas Watzenrode, adopted Nicolaus & the rest of his siblings & set up a future for all of them. He was a diplomat that studied at Jagiellonian University. He was only 36 when he adopted the kids.

1492

University of Krakow

When Copernicus was just 19, his uncle sent him & his brother to Krakow University, which is in Poland. During his years there, Copernicus changed his name to what it is now (Copernicus, Latin) when it was originally Koppernigk (Polish). The reason why is because at that University, everyone spoke Latin. At Krakow Copernicus studied mathematics and Greek & Islamic astronomy. But, during his studies he was questioning what he was being taught. After he graduated in 1496, he became an astronomer.

1496

University of Bologna

After the University of Krakow, Copernicus' uncle sent him to Italy to study at the University of Bologna. It took Copernicus two months to get to Italy by foot. Here, he studied law. After he graduated in 1500, he became a licensed lawyer.

1500

University of Padua

Yet another University in Italy, Copernicus studied medicine here. But, only for two years. After he graduated from this University in 1502, he became a licensed physician.

1514

Little Commentary

12 years after college, Copernicus starts working on a book called 'Little Commentary'. It introduces the heliocentric view (a sun centered universe) & the problems with the geocentric view (Earth centered universe). After it was finished he only gave it to some family members & very close friends. People he could trust, he couldn't risk having the outside world know he disagreed with what everyone has learned for so long.

1532

On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

Almost 20 years after writing 'Little Commentary', Copernicus wrote another piece called 'On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres'. He had been working on this for about 16 years before completion. It is about the heliocentric view & gives reasoning to his theory. It gives mathematical explanations for how Ptolemy's heliocentric view doesn't work. After completion, he resisted to publish it. Terrified of the Church going after him for going against their beliefs.

1543

Published

Shortly after publishing "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres", Copernicus passed away in Frombork, Poland on May 24th. Just about two days walking distance from where he was born. After he passed, people mocked & ridiculed Copernicus for his book & ideas. Now, we know his ideas to be the truth.

1544