| Description | Nicolaus Copernicus (/koʊˈpɜːrnɪkəs, kə-/; Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik [miˈkɔwaj kɔˈpɛrɲik] ; German: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe, possibly independently of Aristarchus of Samos, who had formulated such a model before Copernicus. The publication of this model in his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) just before his death in 1543 was a major event in the history of science, triggering the Copernican Revolution and making an important contribution to the Scientific Revolution. Nicolaus Copernicus in Wikipedia |
