In which year was Nicolaus Copernicus born?
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1473
In Thorn (today Toruń, Poland).
💡 Did you know? Copernicus was born in 1473 in what was then Prussia (today Poland) and studied in Italy.
All questions with answers
Which worldview did Copernicus establish?
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heliocentric
The Sun, not the Earth, is at the centre.
💡 Did you know? Copernicus placed the Sun at the centre: breaking with the 1,400-year-old view that put the Earth in the middle.
What is at the centre of Copernicus's model?
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the Sun
The Earth becomes one planet among many.
💡 Did you know? That the Earth orbits the Sun (and not the reverse) seemed absurd to his contemporaries at first.
What is the title of Copernicus's 1543 main work?
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De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres.
💡 Did you know? His masterwork „De revolutionibus“ launched the „Copernican turn“: now a byword for any radical shift in perspective.
Which older worldview did Copernicus' model replace?
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geocentric
The Earth had been seen as the resting centre.
💡 Did you know? Copernicus displaced Ptolemy's geocentric worldview, which had reigned unchallenged for over a thousand years.
What was Copernicus's profession besides astronomy?
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canon
He was also a physician and lawyer.
💡 Did you know? Copernicus pursued astronomy only on the side: his main role was as a cathedral canon and administrator.
When did Copernicus' main work appear?
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1543 (year of death)
Legend says he held it as he lay dying.
💡 Did you know? His famous book appeared in 1543, the year of his death: legend says he held the first copy on his deathbed.
Foto: Christoph Murer, Tobias Stimmer · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Which scientist is shown here?
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Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus placed the Sun at the centre of the cosmos and thereby set off a scientific revolution.
💡 Did you know? Fearing controversy, he had his masterwork published only in the year of his death, 1543.
Where was Nicolaus Copernicus born?
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Toruń
Born: 19 February 1473 in Toruń, Poland
How old was Nicolaus Copernicus at death?
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70
Died: 24 May 1543 in Frombork, aged 70
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