Biography

early years

Torun: the house where Copernicus was born

The question of the ethnicity of Copernicus is still the subject of a (rather unpromising) discussion. His mother was German (Barbara Watzenrode), the father's nationality is unclear. Thus, ethnically, Copernicus was German or half German, although he himself may have considered himself a Pole (by territorial and political affiliation). He wrote in Latin and German, not a single document in Polish written by his hand has been found; after the early death of his father, he was brought up in a German family by his mother and uncle. Niccolò Komneno Popadopoli spread the unproven - and, according to modern historians, invented by himself - story that Copernicus allegedly enrolled at the University of Padua as a Pole. It should be noted that the concept of nationality in those years was much more vague than today, and some historians suggest that Copernicus be considered a Pole and a German at the same time.

In the Copernicus family, besides Nicholas, there were three more children: Andrei, later a canon in Warmia, and two sisters: Barbara and Katerina. Barbara went to a monastery, and Katerina got married and gave birth to five children, to whom Nicolaus Copernicus was very attached and took care of them until the end of his life.

Bust of Copernicus in Krakow

Having lost his father as a 9-year-old child and remained in the care of his maternal uncle, Canon Luke ( Lucas) Watzenrode (Watzelrode), Copernicus entered the University of Krakow in 1491, where he studied mathematics, medicine and theology with equal zeal, but he was especially attracted to astronomy.

To continue his education, Copernicus leaves for Italy () and enters the University of Bologna. In addition to theology, law and ancient languages, he also has the opportunity to study astronomy there. It is interesting to note that one of the professors in Bologna was then Scipio del Ferro, with whose discoveries the revival of European mathematics began. Meanwhile, thanks to the efforts of his uncle, in Poland Copernicus is elected in absentia as a canon in the diocese of Warmia.

Death

A. Lesser. Death of Copernicus

The book of Copernicus has remained as an outstanding monument of human thought. From that moment dates the beginning of the first scientific revolution.

grave

The location of Copernicus' tomb remained unknown for a long time, but in November 2008 DNA analysis confirmed the discovery of his remains.

Scientific activity

heliocentric system

Celestial spheres in the Copernican manuscript

Title page of "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium"

In the preface to the book, Copernicus writes:

Considering how absurd this teaching must seem, I hesitated for a long time to publish my book and thought whether it would not be better to follow the example of the Pythagoreans and others, who transmitted their teaching only to friends, spreading it only by tradition.

The Nuremberg theologian Osiander, to whom Rheticus entrusted the printing of Copernicus's book, out of caution provided it with an anonymous preface in which he declared the new model a conditional mathematical device invented to reduce calculations. At one time, this preface was attributed to Copernicus himself, although he resolutely refused to make such a reservation in response to Osiander's request. The preface is followed by a letter of praise from Cardinal Schoenberg and a dedication to Pope Paul III.

In structure, the main work of Copernicus almost repeats the Almagest in a somewhat abridged form (6 books instead of 13). The first part speaks of the sphericity of the world and the Earth, and instead of the position of the immobility of the Earth, another axiom is placed - the Earth and other planets rotate around an axis and revolve around the Sun. This concept is argued in detail, and the "opinion of the ancients" is convincingly refuted. From heliocentric positions, he easily explains the return motion of the planets.

The second part provides information on spherical trigonometry and the rules for calculating the apparent positions of stars, planets and the Sun in the firmament.

The third one talks about the annual movement of the Earth and precession (precession of the equinoxes), and Copernicus correctly explains it by the displacement of the earth's axis, which is why the line of intersection of the equator with the ecliptic moves.

In the fourth - about the Moon, in the fifth - about the planets in general, and in the sixth - about the reasons for changing the latitudes of the planets. The book also contains a star catalog, an estimate of the size of the Sun and Moon, the distances to them and to the planets (close to true), the theory of eclipses.

Assumption I: The sun is the center of the universe and, therefore, is motionless. Everyone considers this statement to be absurd and absurd from a philosophical point of view, and moreover, formally heretical, since its expressions largely contradict the Holy Scripture, according to the literal meaning of the words, as well as the usual interpretation and understanding of the Church Fathers and teachers of theology.
Assumption II: The Earth is not the center of the universe, it is not motionless and moves as a whole (body) and, moreover, makes a daily circulation. Everyone thinks that this position deserves the same philosophical condemnation; in terms of theological truth, it is at least wrong in faith.

original text(lat.)

Propositio I: Sol est centrum et omnino immobilis motu locali. Censura: omnes dixerunt dictam propositionem esse stultam et absurdam in philosophia et formaliter hereticam, quatenus contradicit expresse sententiis sacrae Scripturae in multis locis, secundum proprietatem verborum et secundum expositionem et sensum SS, Patrum et theologorum doctorum. Propositio II: Terra non est centrum mundi nec immobilis, sed secundum se totam movetur etiam motu diurno. Censura: omnes dixerunt hanc propositionem recipere eandem censuram in philosophia et spectando veritatem theologicam ad minus esse in fide erroneam..

The most famous consequence of this decision in the 17th century was the trial of Galileo (1633), who violated the church prohibition in his book Dialogues on the Two Chief Systems of the World.

Contrary to popular belief, the very book of Copernicus " ”was formally banned by the Inquisition for only 4 years, but was censored. In 1616, it was listed in the Roman Index of Prohibited Books, marked "before correction." The required censorship amendments, which had to be made by the owners of the book for further use, were made public in 1620. These corrections mainly concerned statements from which it followed that heliocentrism is not just a mathematical model, but a reflection of reality. Many copies of the first (Nuremberg,), second (Basel,) and third (Amsterdam,) editions have survived, owned, in particular, by famous astronomers and other historical figures, in which the owners complied with censorship instructions with varying degrees of loyalty: from completely obscuring the required fragments Copernicus and the inscription of the recommended text, to the complete disregard of the prescriptions. About 2/3 of the surviving copies from Italy have been corrected by their owners, while the vast majority of copies from other countries have not been corrected. The Spanish Index of Prohibited Books explicitly allowed the book. Interestingly, copies of the second and third editions were brought to China by Jesuit missionaries in 1618 during the formal prohibition. The book was removed from the Roman Index of Prohibited Books in 1835. .

Other achievements in astronomy

Copernicus was one of the first to express the idea of ​​universal gravitation. One of his letters says:

I think that heaviness is nothing but a certain desire with which the divine Architect endowed the particles of matter so that they would unite in the form of a ball. The Sun, the Moon, and the planets probably have this property; to him these luminaries owe their spherical shape.

He confidently predicted that Venus and Mercury had phases similar to those of the moon. After the invention of the telescope, Galileo confirmed this prediction.

Economy

Copernicus was the first to draw attention to the regularity known as the Copernican-Gresham Law (independently discovered also by the English banker Thomas Gresham). According to this principle, money that is more stable in its exchange rate (for example, gold) will be forced out of circulation, as people will accumulate savings in it, and “worse” money (for example, copper) will participate in real circulation.

List of works

• N.C. Medita XV. Augusti anno domini MDXVII.,
• Tractatus de monetis,
• Monetae cudendae ratio,
• De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium- Nuremberg, Germany:

perpetuation of memory

Monuments

Named after Copernicus:

see also

Notes

Literature

Compositions

• Copernicus Nicholas. On the rotation of the celestial spheres. Per. I. N. Veselovsky. Moscow: Nauka, 1964.

About him

• Ambartsumyan V. A. Copernicus and modern astronomy. Report at the Anniversary Meeting of the General Meeting of the USSR Academy of Sciences, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the birth of N. Copernicus, March 6, 1973. Bulletin of the USSR Academy of Sciences, No. 5, 1973, pp. 46-56.
• A. V. Akhutin The Copernican Innovation and the Copernican Revolution. In the book: A. V. Akhutin Struggling about being. M.: RFO, 1997, p. 181-243.
• Bely Yu. A. Copernicus, Copernicanism and the Development of Natural Science. IAI, Vol. XII, p. fifteen.
• Veselovsky I. N., Bely Yu. A. Copernicus, 1473-1543. Moscow: Nauka, 1974.
• Gerasimenko M.P. Nicolaus Copernicus is an outstanding economist of the era of early capitalism. Kyiv: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, 1953.
• Grebenikov E. A. Nicholas Copernicus. Moscow: Nauka, 1982.
• Dmitriev I. S. The Temptation of Saint Copernicus: The Unscientific Roots of the Scientific Revolution. Publishing House of St. Petersburg University, 2006.
• Idelson N.I. Studies in the history of celestial mechanics. Moscow: Nauka, 1975.
• Levin A. The Man Who Moved the Earth // Popular Mechanics. - 2009. - № 6.
• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). On the 400th anniversary of death. M.-L.: Ed. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1947.
• Engelgardt M. A. Nicholas Copernicus. In the book: Copernicus. Galileo. Kepler. Laplace and Euler. Quetelet. Biographical narratives (F. Pavlenkov's library, volume 21, pp. 5-73). Chelyabinsk, "Ural", 1997.
• Dmitriev I. S. The Temptation of Saint Copernicus: The Unscientific Roots of the Scientific Revolution. Publishing house of St. Petersburg University, 2006.

Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish Mikołaj Kopernik, German Niklas Koppernigk, Latin Nicolaus Copernicus). Born February 19, 1473 in Torun - died May 24, 1543 in Frombork. Polish astronomer, mathematician, mechanic, economist, canon of the Renaissance. He is best known as the author of the heliocentric system of the world, which marked the beginning of the first scientific revolution.

Born in Torun in a merchant family, he lost his parents early. Torun became part of Poland just a few years before the birth of Copernicus, before that the city bore the name Thorn and was part of Prussia, which belonged to the Teutonic Order.

The question of the ethnicity of Copernicus is still the subject of a (rather unpromising) discussion. His mother was German (Barbara Watzenrode), the nationality of his father is unclear, but it is known that he was a native of Krakow. Thus, ethnically, Copernicus was German or half German, although he himself may have considered himself a Pole (by territorial and political affiliation). He wrote in Latin and German, not a single document in Polish written by his hand has been found; after the early death of his father, he was brought up in a German family by his mother and uncle. Niccolò Komneno Popadopoli spread the unproven - and, according to modern historians, invented by himself - story that Copernicus allegedly enrolled at the University of Padua as a Pole. It should be noted that the concept of nationality in those years was much more vague than today, and some historians suggest that Copernicus be considered a Pole and a German at the same time.

In the Copernicus family, besides Nicholas, there were three more children: Andrei, later a canon in Warmia, and two sisters: Barbara and Katerina. Barbara went to a monastery, and Katerina got married and gave birth to five children, to whom Nicolaus Copernicus was very attached and took care of them until the end of his life.

Having lost his father as a 9-year-old child and remained in the care of his maternal uncle, Canon Lukasz Watzenrode, Copernicus entered the University of Krakow in 1491, where he studied mathematics, medicine and theology with equal zeal, but he was especially attracted to astronomy.

At the end of the university (1494), Copernicus did not receive any academic title, and the family council decided that he would have a spiritual career. A strong argument in favor of such a choice was that the patron uncle had just been elevated to the rank of bishop.

To continue his education, Copernicus went to Italy (1497) and entered the University of Bologna. In addition to theology, law and ancient languages, he had the opportunity to study astronomy there. It is interesting to note that one of the professors in Bologna was then Scipio del Ferro, with whose discoveries the revival of European mathematics began. In the meantime, thanks to the efforts of his uncle, Copernicus was elected in absentia a canon in the diocese of Warmia in Poland.

In 1500, Copernicus left the university, again without receiving any diploma or title, and went to Rome. Rheticus' memoirs say that Copernicus taught a number of disciplines at the University of Rome, including astronomy, but other biographers question this fact. Then, after a short stay in his homeland, he left for the University of Padua and continued to study medicine.

In 1503, Copernicus finally completed his education, passed the exams in Ferrara, received a diploma and a doctorate in canon law. He was in no hurry to return and, with the permission of his uncle, the bishop, practiced medicine in Padua for the next three years.

In 1506, Copernicus received news, perhaps far-fetched, of his uncle's illness. He left Italy and returned to his homeland. He spent the next 6 years in the bishop's castle of Heilsberg, doing astronomical observations and teaching in Krakow. At the same time, he is a doctor, secretary and confidant of Uncle Lukash.

In 1512, the bishop's uncle died. Copernicus moved to Frombork, a small town on the banks of the Vistula Lagoon, where he was a canon all this time, and began his spiritual duties. However, he did not give up scientific research. The northwestern tower of the fortress became an observatory.

Already in the 1500s, the idea of ​​a new astronomical system was quite clear to him. He began to write a book describing a new model of the world, discussing his ideas with friends, including many of his like-minded people (for example, Tiedemann Giese, Bishop of Kulm). During these years (approximately 1503-1512) Copernicus circulated among friends a handwritten synopsis of his theory ("Small Commentary on Hypotheses Relating to Celestial Motions"), and his student Rheticus published a clear exposition of the heliocentric system in 1539. Apparently, rumors about the new theory had already spread widely in the 1520s. Work on the main work - "On the rotation of the heavenly spheres"- lasted almost 40 years, Copernicus constantly made adjustments to it, prepared new astronomical calculation tables.

Rumors about a new outstanding astronomer were spreading in Europe. There is a version, not documented, that Pope Leo X invited Copernicus to take part in the preparation of the calendar reform (1514, implemented only in 1582), but he politely refused.

When necessary, Copernicus devoted his energies to practical work: according to his project, a new monetary system was introduced in Poland, and in the city of Frombork, he built a hydraulic machine that supplied water to all houses. Personally, as a doctor, he was engaged in the fight against the plague of 1519. During the Polish-Teutonic War (1519-1521) he organized a successful defense of the bishopric from the Teutons. At the end of the conflict, Copernicus took part in peace negotiations (1525), which ended with the creation of the first Protestant state on the order lands - the Duchy of Prussia, a vassal of the Polish crown.

In 1531, the 58-year-old Copernicus retired and focused on completing his book. At the same time, he was engaged in medical practice (free of charge). Faithful Retik constantly fussed about the speedy publication of the work of Copernicus, but it progressed slowly. Fearing that the obstacles would be insurmountable, Copernicus circulated among his friends a brief synopsis of his work entitled "Small Commentary" (Commentariolus). In 1542, the scientist's condition deteriorated significantly, paralysis of the right half of the body set in.

Copernicus died on May 24, 1543 at the age of 70 from a stroke. Some biographers (for example, Tiedemann Giese) claim that the author managed to see his work published shortly before his death. But others argue that this was impossible, since Copernicus was in a severe coma for the last months of his life.

The book of Copernicus has remained as an outstanding monument of human thought.

The location of Copernicus' tomb remained unknown for a very long time, but during excavations at the Frombork Cathedral in 2005, a skull and leg bones were discovered. Comparative DNA analysis of these remains and two hairs of Copernicus, found in one of the books that belonged to him, confirmed that the remains of Copernicus were found.

On May 20, 2010, the ceremony of reburial of the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus began. On May 21, the coffin was taken to the Frombork Cathedral, where Copernicus made his most important discoveries. On the way to Frombork, the coffin passed through several cities in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship - Dobre Miasto, Lidzbark Warmiński, Orneta, Pienieżno and Braniewo, with which Copernicus was associated in the course of his activities. On May 22, 2010, the remains of the great scientist were buried in the Frombork Cathedral. The solemn ceremony was held by the Primate of Poland, Archbishop of Gniezno Józef Kowalczyk. The burial of the remains was also timed to coincide with the celebration of the city's 750th anniversary.

February 19 marks the 540th anniversary of the birth of the brilliant Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543), the author of the heliocentric system of the world, which revolutionized astronomical science. By this date, we bring to your attention 15 interesting facts about Copernicus.

1. Just in case, let's say right away. Copernicus was not burned at the stake by the Inquisition - otherwise, recently one has sometimes heard such curious statements. He died peacefully in his bed, while Giordano Bruno was burned.

By his main occupation, Nicolaus Copernicus was a canon (a member of the highest spiritual and administrative curia of the episcopate) at the cathedral city of Frombork, the center of Warmia, a semi-independent principality within Poland. Most biographers and researchers of his work believe that, contrary to popular legend, Copernicus did not have a priesthood.

2. Copernicus proved that the apparent movement of the Sun and stars in the sky is explained not by their circulation around the Earth, but by the daily rotation of the Earth itself around its own axis and its annual revolution around the Sun.

Prior to this, the geocentric system of the world of the ancient astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy (100 - 165 AD), which was also adhered to by the Catholic Church, was generally accepted in Europe for more than one and a half thousand years. According to it, the Sun, Moon and planets revolve around the Earth, which has a spherical shape and is the center of the universe.

3. However, the ancient astronomer Aristarchus of Samos (310 - 250 BC) spoke about the fact that the Earth actually revolves around the Sun. Aristarchus, using his own methods, measured the sizes of the Sun and the Earth. According to his calculations, the diameter of the Sun is 19 times the diameter of the Earth (in fact, 109 times). Based on this hypothesis, Aristarchus began to prove that a larger body cannot revolve around a smaller one. Contemporaries of Aristarchus considered his opinion blasphemous and expelled him from Alexandria: Aristarchus worked and studied in the famous Library of Alexandria and Museion.

Copernicus was not familiar with the heliocentric system of Aristarchus of Samos, since the story of Archimedes about it was published in Europe only after his death. But the fact that the Pythagoreans were of the opinion that the Earth is not stationary, but rotates around its axis and the central world fire, he read in Cicero and Aristotle.

4. As a young man in Padua (Italy), Nicolaus Copernicus studied to be a doctor, although he did not receive a doctorate in medicine. However, at home, he earned the fame of a very knowledgeable doctor. His fame spread far beyond Warmia. Even noble crusaders from the Teutonic Order, which bordered Varimey on three sides and constantly fought with it, aspired to be his patients.

5. In addition, Nicholas was a very close assistant in administrative and diplomatic affairs, as well as the personal physician of his uncle Lukasz Wachenrode (maternal), Bishop of Warmia. The peculiarity of Warmia was that the church authorities were there at the same time secular authorities. That is, his uncle was the head of this Polish principality, and Nicholas Copernicus was a very close associate of the ruler of the region and his assistant.

6. Copernicus also studied the laws of money circulation. He devoted several special treatises to this subject, which were never published during his lifetime. He, in particular, formulated the following economic law: "The worst money drives the best money out of circulation."

7. During the war between Poland and the Teutonic Order in 1519-1521, Copernicus had to defend the cathedral, behind the walls of which the inhabitants of Frombork burned by the crusaders were hiding, and in February 1521 even took command of the garrison of the besieged Olsztyn castle. During these events, Copernicus showed outstanding organizational talent and courage.

8. During the years of his studies in Italy, Copernicus perfectly learned the ancient Greek language. He is the author of the first translation from ancient Greek in Poland. In 1509, in Krakow, translated into Latin, “Moral, rural and love letters” by Theophylact Simocatta, a famous Byzantine writer and historian of the 7th century, translated by Copernicus, were published.

9. Such a popular political term as "revolution" came from the astronomical realm. Revolutio in Latin means "regular rotation", "reversal", "return to one's place". Especially his popularity in the natural sciences grew due to the title of the main work of Copernicus, in which he outlined his heliocentric system - De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, "On the rotations of the celestial spheres", published in 1543.

In the political sphere, this word was originally used in its metaphorical meaning as a synonym for restoration, i.e. counter-revolution (return), and only then "by contiguity", contrary to the original meaning, it began to mean a radical violent upheaval, the purpose of which is to establish a completely new order of things.

Nevertheless, it is symbolic that the work of Copernicus, which marked the beginning of a real revolution in natural science, was called so "revolutionary".

10. The main work of Copernicus went out of print in the spring of 1543, when the author was already seriously ill. Only on his deathbed did he manage to hold the main work of his life in his hands. Literally a few hours before his death, they brought him a copy of the newly printed work. Copernicus died on May 24, 1543 and was buried under the stones of the Frombork Cathedral.

11. In the Copernican model, the planets rotated uniformly around the Sun in circular orbits. Later, the great German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) established that the planets revolve around the Sun in ellipses. This is stated by Kepler's first famous law of the three devoted to the laws of motion of the planets of the solar system: "Each planet of the solar system revolves in an ellipse, in one of the focuses of which is the Sun."

12. At first, the hierarchs of the Catholic Church calmly accepted the work of Copernicus, since the preface written by non-Copernicus stated that the hypothesis contained in the book was a “fiction”. It does not claim to be a true description of the world, but is offered only for the convenience of calculations. But Protestants were immediately hostile to the book, who were not reassured by the preface. Martin Luther himself commented on the new trends in 1539 even before the publication of the book of Copernicus: “They talk about a new astrologer who wants to prove that the Earth moves and revolves around itself, and not the sky, not the Sun and not the Moon; it is the same as if someone sits in a cart or on a ship and moves, but thinks that he remains in place, and the earth and trees move towards him. But here's the thing: if someone wants to be smart, he must invent something of his own and consider the best that he invented. The fool wants to turn the whole art of astronomy upside down. But, as the Scriptures indicate, Joshua commanded the Sun to stop, not the Earth.”

13. Only after the works and statements of Galileo, who defended the truth of the Copernican system, the book "On the rotations of the heavenly spheres" was included by the Catholic Church in the index of forbidden books. It was only after 1822 that De revolutionibus ceased to be mentioned in the Vatican's "List of Forbidden Books" - hundreds of years after the discoveries of Kepler, Galileo and Newton and finding direct physical evidence of the orbital and daily rotation of the Earth.

14. For scientific thinking, the idea of ​​distinguishing between what is visible and what is in reality is fundamentally important. But in science, including astronomy, this idea did not find application before Copernicus. Copernicus gave concrete form to the difference between visible and real movements. Its application literally revolutionized astronomy. Philosopher B.M. Kedrov wrote: “When the thought arises that some invisible side of things and phenomena is hidden behind visibility, which is not directly tangible, from that moment true science begins ... The first step in this direction was made by Copernicus.”

The expression “Copernican revolution” even entered into philosophical use, which began to denote scientific revolutions and radical changes in the development of scientific and philosophical ideas.

15. Meanwhile, already in the 20th century, when science experienced a new revolution, including in cosmology, ideas began to be expressed that, taking into account the new non-classical physics, in particular, Einstein's general theory of relativity, there is no fundamental difference between the systems of Copernicus and Ptolemy. This point of view was adhered to by the founder of the concept of a non-stationary (changing) Universe A.A. Friedman. He wrote: “Not only can we, sitting inside the system, establish its uniform and rectilinear motion, but we cannot decide: from two systems moving accelerated relative to each other, which is moving, and which is stationary ... It is impossible to decide who is right “Ptolemy or Copernicus, it is impossible, unless, of course, one resorts to the principles of expediency and economy of thought left in this article once and for all.” Friedman believed that it is expedient and convenient for us to think that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and as a witty illustration of this train of thought, he attracted the following lines of M.V. Lomonosov:

I will prove the truth, I have not been to the Sun.

Who saw the simpleton from the cook is like this,

Which would turn the hearth around Zharkov.

Other arguments in favor of the heliocentric system of Copernicus A.A. Friedman did not see.

The Russian religious philosophers A.F. Losev and P.A. Florensky.

However, this point is quite exotic, and it is generally accepted that Copernicus is right after all. However, science continues to develop rapidly, including cosmology. Who knows what new and amazing discoveries it will bring us yet.

February 19, 1473 in the now Polish city of Torun was born the future creator of a new picture of the world Nicholas Copernicus.

Almost everyone who studied at school heard his name one way or another. However, information about him, as a rule, is placed in one or two lines, along with a couple more names of prominent scientists who strengthened the triumph of the heliocentric system of the world - and Galileo Galilei.

This triumvirate is so entrenched in the minds that it sometimes causes confusion in the minds of even high-ranking politicians. Former Speaker of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, defending the doubtful scientific developments of his old acquaintance and "scientific co-author" academician Petrik, threw an immediately famous phrase: “The term pseudoscience goes far into the Middle Ages. We can remember Copernicus, who was burned for saying “But the Earth is still spinning!”

Thus, the politician mixed the fate of all three scientists into one heap. Although, in fact, Nicolaus Copernicus, unlike his students, managed to happily escape the persecution of the Inquisition.

Canon "by pull"

The future creator of a new picture of the world was born on February 19, 1473 in the now Polish city of Torun, in a merchant family. Interestingly, there is no consensus even about his national origin. Despite the fact that Copernicus is considered a Pole, there is not a single document that a scientist wrote in Polish. It is known that Nikolai's mother was German, and his father, a native of Krakow, may have been a Pole, but it is not possible to establish this for sure.

Copernicus' parents died early, and Nicholas ended up in the care of his maternal uncle, a Catholic priest. Luke Watzenrode. It was thanks to his uncle that in 1491 Copernicus entered the University of Krakow, where, among other sciences, he became interested in astronomy.

Uncle Nicholas, meanwhile, became a bishop, and in every possible way contributed to the career of his nephew. In 1497 Copernicus continued his studies at the University of Bologna in Italy. Interestingly, neither in Krakow nor in Bologna did Nikolai receive any degree.

From 1500, Copernicus studied medicine at the University of Padua, after which he passed the exams and received a doctorate in canon law.

After spending three years in Italy as a practicing physician, Nicholas returned to his uncle, the bishop, under whom he took the position of secretary and confidant, while also acting as a personal physician.

The career of Copernicus, who by that time had the ecclesiastical rank of canon, was a complete success. Remaining secretary to his uncle, Nikolai managed to do astronomical research in Krakow.

The Plumber and the Plague Killer

The comfortable life ended in 1512, with the death of the bishop's uncle. Copernicus moved to the town of Frombork, where he had been nominally a canon for several years, and began his spiritual duties.

Copernicus also did not leave his scientific activity, starting to develop his own model of the world.

It must be said that Copernicus did not make a big secret of his ideas. His handwritten text "A Small Commentary on Hypotheses Relating to Celestial Motions" even circulated among friends. However, the full development of the new system will take the scientist almost 40 years.

The astronomical works of Copernicus became known in Europe, but at first there was no persecution of the concept he proposed. Firstly, the astronomer himself rather carefully formulated his own ideas, and secondly, the church fathers for a long time could not decide whether to consider the heliocentric system of the world a heresy.

Heliocentric system of the world. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Copernicus himself, not forgetting about the main work of life, managed to be noted in other sciences: he developed a new monetary system for Poland, as a physician actively contributed to the elimination of the plague of 1519, and even designed a water supply system for houses fromborka.

Since 1531, Copernicus was engaged only in the development of his heliocentric system and medical practice. His health began to deteriorate, and in the last years of his life he was helped by students and like-minded people in his work.

In the last year of his life, Copernicus was struck by paralysis, and a couple of months before his death, he fell into a coma. The scientist died in his bed on May 24, 1543, never having seen the work of his life published - the book "On the rotation of the celestial spheres." It was first published in Nuremberg, in the same year 1543.

Life's work

It should be noted that in his criticism of the Ptolemaic picture of the world with the Earth at the center of the universe, Copernicus was far from the first. ancient authors such as Nikita of Syracuse and Philolaus believed that the earth revolved around the sun, and not vice versa. However, the authority of such luminaries of science as Ptolemy and Aristotle, was higher. The final victory of the geocentric system came when the Christian Church made it the basis of its picture of the world.

Interestingly, the work of Copernicus himself was far from accurate. Approving the heliocentric system of the world, the rotation of the Earth around its axis, the movement of the planets in orbits, for example, he believed the orbits of the planets to be perfectly round, not elliptical. As a result, even the enthusiasts of his theory were quite puzzled when, during astronomical observations, the planets turned out to be in the wrong place, which was prescribed by Copernicus' calculations. And for critics of his works, this was a gift at all.

As already mentioned, Copernicus happily escaped the persecution of the Inquisition. The Catholic Church had no time for him - she waged a desperate struggle against the Reformation. Some bishops, of course, even during the lifetime of the scientist accused him of heresy, but the matter did not come to real persecution.

Only in 1616, with Pope Paul V, the Catholic Church officially forbade adhering to and defending the Copernican theory as a heliocentric system of the world, since such an interpretation is contrary to Scripture. It is a paradox, but at the same time, according to the decision of theologians, the heliocentric model could still be used to calculate the motion of the planets.

It is also interesting that the book of Copernicus "On the rotation of celestial bodies" was included in the famous Roman Index of banned books, a kind of medieval prototype of the "black list" of banned sites on the Runet, for only 4 years, from 1616 to 1620. After that, it returned to circulation, albeit with an ideological correction - references to the heliocentric system of the world were cut out of it, while leaving the mathematical calculations that lay in its justification.

This attitude towards the work of Copernicus only spurred interest in it. The followers developed and refined the theory of the great scientist, eventually establishing it as a correct picture of the world.

The burial place of Nicolaus Copernicus became known only in 2005. On May 22, 2010, the remains of the great scientist were solemnly reburied in the Cathedral of Frombork.

Reburial of the remains of Copernicus. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The Catholic Church admitted its guilt in denying the correct theory of Copernicus only in 1993, when the Pope was John Paul II- countryman of Copernicus, Pole Karol Wojtyla.

Recalcitrant Bruno and humble Galileo

It is necessary to mention the fate of two followers of Nicolaus Copernicus - Giordano Bruno and Galileo Galilee.

Giordano Bruno, who not only shared the teachings of Copernicus, but also went much further than him, proclaiming the plurality of worlds in the Universe, defining the stars as distant luminaries, similar to the Sun, was very active in promoting his ideas. Moreover, he encroached on many church postulates, including the immaculate nature of the conception of the Virgin Mary. Naturally, the Inquisition began to persecute him, and in 1592 Giordano Bruno was arrested.

Giordano Bruno. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

For more than six years, the inquisitors sought to renounce the scientist, who was also a monk, but they failed to break Bruno's will. On February 17, 1600, the scientist was burned in the Square of Flowers in Rome.

Unlike the writings of Copernicus, Giordano Bruno's books remained in the Index of Banned Books until its most recent publication in 1948. 400 years after the execution of Giordano Bruno, the Catholic Church considers the execution of the scientist justified and refuses to rehabilitate him.

Galileo Galilei. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Galileo Galilei, whose works and discoveries in astronomy are unusually great, did not show stamina like Giordano Bruno. Having found himself in the hands of the Inquisition at almost the age of 70, after torture and under the threat of "sharing the fate of the heretic Bruno", Galileo in 1633 chose to renounce the heliocentric system, of which he had been a defender throughout his life. And, of course, the unfortunate old man, who narrowly escaped the auto-da-fe, did not even think of throwing the impudent “But still she spins!”

Galileo Galilei will be finally rehabilitated only in 1992, also by decision of Pope John Paul II.

He is considered one of the most famous Polish scientists, although he is definitely the property of world science. The scientist, who in the 15th century managed to go against the teachings of the church and prove that the Earth is far from the center of the world, who was both a canon and a researcher, died without seeing the reaction of the world to his discovery.

Family and childhood

Nicolaus Copernicus was born into a merchant family. His father was a native of Krakow, although his nationality is unknown. Mother was an ethnic German. Nikolai was the fourth child in the family, besides him, his parents had another son and two daughters.

Nikolai received his primary education at a school, which was located near his home in Torun.

When he was nine, his father died of the plague, and therefore the mother and her brother took up the upbringing of all the children. He moved his sister's family to Krakow. There, Nikolai and his older brother entered the university, Nikolai began to study art, although he was equally interested in mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.

Education and wandering around the world

In 1494, Nicholas graduated from the university without any scientific title. The family decided that it would be best for him to devote himself to religion, especially since his uncle had just received the rank of bishop.

But Copernicus doubted this choice. Therefore, together with his brother, he decided to travel Italy. As a result, in 1497 he entered the University of Bologna. The faculty of law was considered the most popular at that time, where they also studied canon and ecclesiastical law. Therefore, Nikolai chose this faculty for himself. Moreover, it was also possible to study astronomy there.

Copernicus conducted the first scientific experiment in this area together with the astronomer Domenico Navarra - they realized that the distance from the Earth to the Moon, when it is squared, is more or less the same: both during the full moon and during the new moon. Thus, their discovery completely crossed out the theory of Ptolemy.

And while Copernicus was making his first scientific discoveries, his uncle still could not get rid of the idea of ​​​​promoting him up the career ladder in the clergy. So, in 1498, he was elected canon in Warmia in absentia. A year later, his elder brother Andrzej also became a canon. But this dignity did not help either brother or another. Bologna was a very expensive city, and both guys turned out to be almost beggars. Fortunately, another canon, Bernard Sculteti, came to their aid and repeatedly helped them financially.

In 1500, Nicholas leaves Bologna and the university, again without a diploma or title. Historians argue about the next few years of his life. Some say that Copernicus went to Rome and taught there at one of the universities, others say that Nicholas briefly returned to Poland, and then went to Padua, where he studied medicine.

Be that as it may, but in 1503 Copernicus received a doctorate in theology, this happened at the University of Ferrara. For the next three years he lived in the town of Padua, where he practiced medicine. But in 1506 he nevertheless returned to Poland. They say that the uncle decided to act with cunning: he lied about his illness, thereby summoning Copernicus to Krakow. There, Copernicus works as his uncle's secretary, teaches astronomy and is engaged in science.

War and defense of Olsztyn

In 1512, Copernicus' uncle died, and he moved to the town of Frombork, where he was appointed canon many years ago. There, in one of the towers of the fortress, he built an observatory for himself and continued his scientific research.

For several years he had carried his theory about the astronomical system in his head, he often discussed it with his scientist friends. For ten years already, a draft of his manuscript on the rotation of celestial bodies had been ready, but he was in no hurry to publish it. I just distributed it among astronomers I knew.

But not only research lived Copernicus. In 1516, he took over the duties of the manager of the Olsztyn and Penenzhnensky districts. But even when his term of office expired after three years, he still could not fully return to science - there was a war with the crusaders, and he needed to take care of the territory that was entrusted to him - Warmia. Therefore, Copernicus took over the command and organization of the defense of the fortress. Thus, the scientist managed to save Olsztyn from the enemy bulk. For his courage, in 1521 he was appointed commissioner of Warmia, and two years later - the general administrator of the area - this is the highest position that anyone could apply for. In the same year, after the election of a new bishop, he was entrusted with the position of Chancellor of Warmia, and after that Copernicus was given a little rest and again to engage in scientific work.

Criticism of Ptolemy

Already in the 1520s, Copernicus clearly realized that Ptolemy was wrong: the Earth is not the only planet that moves around the Sun. The only thing where Nikolai himself was mistaken was that he believed that the stars themselves were motionless. But here the explanation is quite simple: at that time there were no such powerful telescopes to catch the movement of stars across the sky.

Rumors spread throughout Europe about a new scientist who is rediscovering the world. Almost all famous scientists of the world spoke about his heliocentric system. Although the work on "On the rotation of the celestial spheres" lasted quite a long time - almost 40 years, because Copernicus was constantly clarifying something, making new calculations.

Last years of life and death

In 1531, the already middle-aged Copernicus retired from all affairs in order to devote himself only to science. His health deteriorated every year. Nevertheless, he still found the strength to practice medicine for free.

In 1542, Copernicus was stricken with paralysis - the right side of the body was taken away. He died at the age of 70 from a stroke. Some of his contemporaries claimed that he managed to see his greatest work published - on the heliocentric system, although biographers say that this is impossible, since the scientist spent many weeks before his death in a coma.

In 2005, unknown remains were found, which, after DNA analysis with two hairs of Copernicus, turned out to be his skull and bones. In 2010 they were reburied in the Frombork Cathedral.

Scientific achievements

Copernicus proved that the planets move around the sun, and not vice versa, as was previously believed. In addition, he read that it is the Sun that is the center of the world. The movements of the planets, as Copernicus believed, are not uniform and not the same.

Only a few years after the death of the scientist, the church realized that his work denies some of the tenets of the sacred letter, and only then they began to seize and burn it.

Nicolaus Copernicus was one of the first to voice the theory of universal gravitation.

The scientist also noticed such a phenomenon, which eventually became known as the Copernican-Gresham law, when people accumulate savings in a more valuable currency, and use a cheaper one in everyday life. At that time it was about gold and copper.

• Only in the 19th century were monuments erected to Copernicus in Warsaw, Krakow, Torun and Regensburg, later also in Olsztyn, Gdansk and Wroclaw. On the central square of the Polish Torun there is a monument to Copernicus, on which there is an inscription: "He who stopped the Sun - moved the Earth."
• In honor of Copernicus, the Chemical element No. 112 - “Copernicus”, the minor planet (1322) Copernicus (Coppernicus), craters on the Moon and on Mars are named.
• In 1973, the 500th anniversary of Copernicus was celebrated worldwide, 47 countries issued about 200 stamps and postage blocks (even the Vatican issued four stamps). Another anniversary came in 1993 (the 450th anniversary of his death), 15 countries celebrated it with the release of about 50 stamps and postage blocks.
• There is a version, not documented, that Pope Leo X invited Copernicus to take part in the preparation of the calendar reform (1514, implemented only in 1582), but he politely refused.