 Born 19 February 1473
 Died 24 May 1543
Stopped the Sun and moved the Earth
 Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473, in
Torun, Poland. He belonged to a family of merchants. Hist
unlce, the bishop and ruler of Ermland, was the person to
whom Copernicus owed his education, career and
security.
 Copernicus studied at the University of Cracow from 1491
to 1494. While he did not attend any classes in
astronomy, it was during his student years there that
Copernicus began to collect books on mathematics and
astronomy (the study of the universe).
 Copernicus returned to Torun in 1494. In 1494, through
the efforts of his uncle, he became a canon (priest) at
Frauenburg, remainin in that office for the remainder of
his life. Copernicus then set out for Bologna, Italy, to study
canon law.
 The father died in 1483 and the children’s maternal
uncle, Lucas Watzenroode (1447 – 1512) took them
under his protection. Watzenrode was a very successful
cleric. He was to become bishop of Warmia (Ermland in
German) in 1489 and he both facilitated his nephew’s
advancement in the church and directed his education.
 In 1491 Copernicus enrolled in the University of Cracow.
There is no record of his haveing obtained a degree,
which was not unusual at the time as he did not need a
bachelor’s degree for his ecclesiastical career or even to
study for a higher degree. But the University of Cracow
ofered courses in mathematics, astronomy and astrolog,
and Copernicus’s interest was sparked, which is attested
to by his acquisition of books in these subjects while at
Cracow.
 Nicolaus Copernicus is one of those who made Poland
and Poles proud. He is best known for the astronomical
theory that the Sun was near the center of the universe
and that the Earth and other planets rotated around the
center. He also stated that the Earth spinning on its axis,
rotates once daily and makes a full revolution around the
Sun in a year.
 Copernicus did not believe that the Earth and other
planets were infuenced by or revolved due to the Sun,
instead he believed that the Sun was located near the
center of the universe. It was this center of the universe
which influenced those bodies and caused them to
revolve. This theory is called the heliocentric or sun-center
theory of the universe.
 He infuenced the world by spreading intellectual
independence by going against the church,
provoking other scientists such as Galileo to question
the churches power in science and finally started
the scientific revolution.
He stopped the Sun and moved the Earth.