Biography of Nicolaus Copernicus. ThePerson: Nicolaus Copernicus, Biography, Life Story, Facts

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 understood 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, after all, 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.

(1473 —1543 )

Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in the Polish city of Torun in the family of a merchant who came from Germany. He was the fourth child in the family. He received his primary education, most likely, in a school located near the house at the Church of St. John. Until the age of ten, he grew up in an atmosphere of well-being and contentment. Carefree childhood ended suddenly and quite early. As soon as Nicholas was ten years old, the plague epidemic, a frequent visitor and formidable scourge of mankind at that time, visited Torun, and one of its first victims was Nicholas Copernicus the father. Lukasz Wachenrode, his mother's brother, took over the care of education and the further fate of his nephew.

In the second half of October 1491, Nicolaus Copernicus, together with his brother Andrzej, arrived in Krakow and enrolled in the Faculty of Arts at the local university. Upon graduation in 1496, Copernicus went on a long journey to Italy.

In the fall, Nikolai, together with his brother Andrzej, ended up in Bologna, which was then part of the Papal States and famous for its university. At that time, the faculty of law with departments of civil and canonical, that is, ecclesiastical law, was especially popular here, and Nikolai enrolled in this faculty. It was in Bologna Copernicus developed an interest in astronomy, which determined his scientific interests. On the evening of March 9, 1497, together with the astronomer Domenico Maria Novara, Nicholas made his first scientific observation. After it, it became clear that the distance to the Moon when ° on is in square is about the same as during a new or full moon. The inconsistency of Ptolemy's theory with the discovered facts was amusing to think about ...

In the first months of 1498, Nicolaus Copernicus was confirmed in absentia as a canon of the Fraubork chapter, a year later Andrzej Copernicus became a canon of the same chapter. However, the very fact of receiving these positions did not reduce the financial difficulties of the brothers, life in Bologna, which attracted many wealthy foreigners, did not differ cheapness, and in October 1499 the Copernicans found themselves completely without a livelihood. They were rescued by canon Bernard Skulteti, who came from Poland, who later met repeatedly on their life path.

Then Nikolai returned to Poland for a short time, but only a year later he again went to Italy, where he studied medicine at the University of Padua and received a doctorate in theology from the University of Ferrara. Copernicus returned to his homeland at the end of 1503 as a comprehensively educated person. and then took up the post of canon in Frombork, a fishing town at the mouth of the Vistula Astronomical observations begun by Copernicus in Italy were continued, albeit on a limited scale, in Lidzbark But he deployed them with particular intensity in Frombork, despite the inconvenience due to the high latitude this place, which made it difficult to observe the planets, and because of the frequent fogs from the Vistula Lagoon, significant cloudiness and overcast skies over this northern area.

The invention of the telescope was still far away, and Tycho Brahe's best instruments for pre-telescopic astronomy did not yet exist, with the help of which the accuracy of astronomical observations was brought to one or two minutes. The most famous instrument used by Copernicus was the triquetrum, a parallax instrument The second instrument used by Copernicus to determine the angle of inclination of the ecliptic, "horoscopes", sundials, a kind of quadrant.

Despite the obvious difficulties, in the "Small Commentary", written around 1516, Copernicus already gave a preliminary presentation of his teaching, or rather, then his hypotheses. He did not consider it necessary to give mathematical proofs in it, since they were intended for a more extensive work on November 3 1516, Nicolaus Copernicus was elected to the position of manager of the chapter's possessions in the Olsztyn and Penenzhno districts. In the autumn of 1519, Copernicus' powers in Olsztyn expired, and he returned to Frombork, but this time he could not really devote himself to astronomical observations to test his hypotheses. with the crusaders.

In the midst of the war, at the beginning of November 1520, Copernicus was again elected administrator of the chapter's possessions in Olsztyn and Peniężno. safe places Taking command of the small garrison of Olsztyn, Copernicus took measures to strengthen the defense of the castle-fortress, taking care of installing guns, creating a supply of ammunition, provisions and water. Copernicus, unexpectedly showing determination and remarkable military talent, managed to defend from the enemy.

Personal courage and determination did not go unnoticed - shortly after the armistice in April 1521, Copernicus was appointed commissioner of Warmia In February 1523, before the election of a new bishop, Copernicus was elected general administrator of Varnia - this is the highest position that he had to occupy In the autumn of that year, after the choice of a bishop, he is appointed chancellor of the chapter. It was only after 1530 that Copernicus' administrative activity narrowed somewhat.

Nevertheless, it was in the twenties that a significant part of the astronomical results of Copernicus accounted for. Many observations were made. So, around 1523, observing the planets at the moment of opposition, that is, when the planet is in the opposite direction to the Sun
point of the celestial sphere, Copernicus made an important discovery, he refuted the opinion that the position of planetary orbits in space remains motionless. 1300 years before that and recorded in Ptolemy's Almagest. But most importantly, by the beginning of the thirties, work on the creation of a new theory and its design in his work “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres” was basically completed. By that time, the world structure system proposed by the ancient Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy existed for almost a millennium. The earth rests motionlessly in the center of the universe, and the sun and other planets revolve around it. Ptolemy's theory did not allow to explain many phenomena well known to astronomers, in particular, the loop-like motion of the planets in the visible sky. But its positions were considered unshakable, since they were in good agreement with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Copernicus, the ancient Greek scientist Aristarchus claimed that the Earth moves around the Sun. But he still could not experimentally confirm his teaching.

Observing the movement of celestial bodies, Copernicus came to the conclusion that Ptolemy's theory was wrong. After thirty years of hard work, long observations and complex mathematical calculations, he convincingly proved that the Earth is only one of the planets and that all planets revolve around the Sun True, Copernicus still He believed that the stars are motionless and are located on the surface of a huge sphere, at a great distance from the Earth. This was due to the fact that at that time there were no such powerful telescopes with which one could observe the sky and stars. Having discovered that the Earth and the planets are satellites of the Sun, Copernicus was able to explain the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky, the strange entanglement in the movement of some planets, as well as the apparent rotation of the firmament. Copernicus believed that we perceive the movement of celestial bodies in the same way as the movement of various objects on Earth when we ourselves are in motion. When we sail in a boat on the surface of the river, it seems that the boat and we are stationary in it, and the banks are floating in the opposite direction. Similarly, to an observer on Earth, the Earth appears to be stationary and the Sun moves around it. In fact, it is the Earth that moves around the Sun and makes a complete revolution in its orbit during the year.

In the twenties, Copernicus gained fame as a skilled doctor. He replenished the knowledge he gained in Padua throughout his life, regularly getting acquainted with the latest medical literature. The fame of an outstanding physician was well-deserved - Copernicus managed to save many patients from severe and intractable ailments. Among his patients were all the bishops of Warmia, high-ranking officials of the Royal and Ducal Prussia, Tidemann Giese, Alexander Skulteti, many canons of the Warmia Chapter He often helped ordinary people. Undoubtedly, the recommendations of their predecessors
Copernicus used it creatively, carefully monitoring the condition of the patients and trying to understand the mechanism of action of the drugs prescribed by him.

After In 1531, his activity in the affairs of the chapter and his social activities began to decline, although as early as 1541 he served as chairman of the building fund of the chapter. Long years of life had an effect. 60 years is an age that in the 16th century was already considered quite advanced. But the scientific activity of Copernicus did not stop. He did not stop medical practice, and his fame as a skilled physician steadily increased. In mid-July 1528, while present as a representative of the Frombork chapter at the sejmik in Torun, Copernicus met the then famous medalist and metal carver Matz Schilling, who had recently moved to Torun from Krakow. There is an assumption that Copernicus knew Schilling from Krakow, more moreover, on the maternal side, he was distantly related to him.

In the house of Schilling, Copernicus met his daughter, the young and beautiful Anna, and soon, compiling one of his astronomical tables, in the heading of the column assigned to the planet Venus, Copernicus outlines the sign of this planet with an ivy leaf outline - the Schilling family stamp, which was placed on all coins and medals minted by Anna's father... As a canon, Copernicus had to observe celibacy - a vow of celibacy. But over the years, Copernicus felt more and more lonely, more and more clearly felt the need for a close and devoted being, and here is a meeting with Anna...

Years passed. The presence of Anna in the house of Copernicus seemed to be accustomed to. However, a denunciation followed to the newly elected bishop. During his illness, Dantiscus summons Dr. Nicholas to himself and, in a conversation with him, as if by chance remarks that it was not appropriate for Copernicus to have such a young and so distant relative with him - one should look for a less young and more closely related.

And Copernicus is forced to "take action." Anna will soon move into her own house. And then she had to leave Frombork as well. This, undoubtedly, overshadowed the last years of the life of Nicolaus Copernicus. In May 1542, Copernicus’s book “On the sides and angles of triangles, both flat and spherical” was published in Wittenberg, with detailed tables of sines and cosines attached.

But the scientist did not live to see the time when the book "On the rotations of the celestial spheres" spread throughout the world. He was dying when friends brought him the first copy of his book, printed in one of the Nuremberg printing houses. Copernicus died on May 24, 1543.

Church leaders did not immediately understand what a blow to religion the book of Copernicus deals. For some time, his work was freely distributed among scientists. Only when Copernicus had followers, his teaching was declared heresy, and the book was included in the "Index" of banned books. Only in 1835 did the Pope exclude the book of Copernicus from it and thereby, as it were, acknowledge the existence of his teaching in the eyes of the church.

Nicolaus Copernicus ... The famous astronomer, who was born on February 19, 1473 in the town of Torun in Poland. He could have taken many paths: the Catholic Church, medicine, mechanics, economics. But he is known to the general public as one of the greatest astronomers. The reason for this was both the life path of Copernicus himself and the fate of his ideas.

Nicholas Copernicus was born in the family of a good Catholic, a merchant originally from Germany. The father was soon killed by the plague. Caring for his nephews (besides Nikolai, his brother and two sisters were in the family) was taken over by his uncle, the brother of his mother, Lukasz Wachenrode, later a bishop. It would seem that this could already determine the path of a young man - a spiritual career, not everyone has the support of an uncle - a church hierarch - behind his back. But fate turned out differently ... Krakow University was waiting for the brothers, one of the sisters got married, one went to the monastery.

In those years, Europe seemed to “remember” the experience of antiquity, culture again put man, not God, at the forefront. The era of the dark Middle Ages was replaced by the Renaissance, the arts and sciences flourished. Did the young schoolboy then suspect about the fate of his ideas, about their role in science?

And then, in 1497, after graduating from Krakow University, Nicholas and his brother went to Italy, the center of the European Renaissance. The Universities of Bollon and Padua completed his education. Already in Bologna, under the guidance of the astronomer Domenico Novara, while conducting observations at the observatory, Copernicus encountered a scientific problem, the solution of which became his main merit.

In those years, the so-called geocentric system of Ptolemy was adopted, according to which the Earth is the center of the Universe, the Sun, like all heavenly bodies, revolves around it. Ptolemy's model could not explain their results. Novara gave a gifted student a recommendation to continue his education in Rome.

Studies

The spiritual path was not forgotten - at the University of Ferrara he received a doctorate in ecclesiastical law. But in all his universities, he paid great attention to astronomy. Returning to Poland and becoming a canon (assistant to the bishop), he served as his uncle's secretary. After his death, he went to the city of Frombork, where he continued his research - so one of the towers of the old castle became an observatory.

It was during this period that the provisions of the Heliocentric system, the main heritage of Copernicus, crystallized. His idea was ingenious in its simplicity:

• If the results of observations of the Moon do not fit the Ptolemaic model, is it possible that the Earth is not at the center of the universe?
• What should be taken as the center, the starting point of this system?
• And if you put the Sun in this place?

So a new, Heliocentric system of Copernicus appeared.

A bold idea that makes a revolution in the minds of people, as it was in tune with the entire Renaissance ... It is especially interesting that he made all his conclusions without a telescope - it would be invented by another great astronomer, Galileo Galilei.

But the old did not want to give up their positions without a fight. This affected Copernicus to a small extent - the revolutionary nature of his ideas was simply not understood during his lifetime. Yes, and there was enough other work - he was talented in many areas. A good doctor, a plumbing designer, a reformer of the financial system in Poland, an organizer of the defense of his bishopric from the Teutonic Order: this is an incomplete list of his merits.

We can recall his contribution to the theory of money circulation. After all, it was he who, having noticed that with the simultaneous circulation of gold and copper coins, gold goes into savings, and copper remains in circulation, he deduced: "The worst money is crowding out the best money."

Merits

But the main thing was the work on the Heliocentric system. If he published the first notes on his theory in 1503, and the book On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres was published in 1543, then it turns out that the work took forty years! It is symbolic that this treatise was published shortly before the death of Copernicus, as if summing up his life path ...

With his death, his ideas did not die, on the contrary, a heated discussion began around them. The Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus, seeing them as heresy: is the Earth really not the center of the universe, but just one of the planets? What then to think of heaven and hell?

But this did not stop inquisitive minds - the result was the death of Giordano Bruno at the stake of the Holy Inquisition and the trial of Galileo Galilei.
It is noteworthy that, calling the theory of Copernicus a heresy, the Catholic Church allowed the use of his model in astronomical calculations. This paradox fixed the facts - the Copernican theory was more in line with reality, although it undermined the biblical picture of the world.

It was the idea of ​​Nicolaus Copernicus that served as the catalyst for the first scientific revolution. The transition from a medieval view of the world to a scientific one is his historical merit.

The world fundamental science is based on conjectures, theories and works of scientists who were sent from above to become pioneers. The Polish canon Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543) was such a unique person to the world. The guesses and predictions of the thinker, formalized for more than half a century in only a few fundamental scientific works, led many talented followers and popularizers of his theories to the medieval fire of the Inquisition. He was born in the 15th century, too early for the alchemists and pseudoscientists to recklessly admit the correctness of his scientific conclusions.

The breadth of his scientific outlook is truly unimaginable. The main works and discoveries made in the field of economics, mathematics and astronomy. At the University of Krakow, where he entered in 1491, the main emphasis, of course, was on medicine and theology. But young Nikolai immediately found a branch of science that he liked - astronomy. He failed to obtain a degree in Krakow, and from 1497 he continued his education at the University of Bologna. Domenico Novara supervised his astronomical observations. Copernicus was lucky to have a mentor in Bologna - he was lectured by the father of the European medieval mathematical school, Scipio del Ferro.

The same period includes works devoted to another field of science - economics. Treatise on Coins (1519), Monetae cudendae ratio (1528).

Fortress of Copernicus

Copernicus completed his education in 1503 at the University of Padua. In those years, the worldview of a young admirer of astronomy began to take shape, which he could safely engage in, turning the northwestern tower of the Frombork fortress in the Baltic into an observatory.

The scientific works of Nicholas, dated to the beginning of the 16th century, were devoted to a new theory of the construction of the world - heliocentric. It was first presented in the monograph "Small commentary ..." (lat. Commentariolus). In 1539, a student of Copernicus, Georg von Rethik, in a simple and understandable language, spoke in his book about the meaning of the discovery of a mentor. The main book, on which Copernicus worked for more than forty years, was called "On the rotation of celestial bodies." He constantly made corrections to it, based on increasingly accurate astronomical calculations.

Having read Ptolemy's reflections on the structure of the world for the first time, Copernicus immediately noticed that the conclusions of the scientific ancient thinker are very controversial, and the way of presentation is very complicated and incomprehensible to a simple reader. The conclusion of Copernicus was unequivocal - the center of the system is the Sun, around which the Earth and all the planets known at that time revolve. Some elements of Ptolemy's theory still had to be recognized - the Pole could not know what the orbits of the planets were.

The work on the fundamental postulates of the heliocentric system was first published by Georg Retik in Nuremberg in 1543 under the title "On the rotation of the celestial spheres." Fearing persecution by the Inquisition, the theologian Andreas Osiander, the publisher of the book, wrote a preface to it. He called the theory a special technique of a mathematical nature, designed to simplify the process of astronomical calculations. The monograph of Copernicus as a whole resembles Ptolemy's Almagest, only there are fewer books - six instead of thirteen. Copernicus easily substantiated that the planets move back, that is, in circular orbits.

The mathematical part of the book contains information about the calculation of the location of the stars, the Sun and planets in the sky. The principles of the Earth's orbit around the Sun are described by Copernicus using the rule of precession of the equinoxes. Ptolemy could not explain it, but Copernicus absolutely accurately speaks about this from the point of view of kinematics. Mentions in his work Copernicus about the principles and laws of motion of the Moon and planets, considers the nature and causes of solar eclipses.

Finally, the theory of the heliocentric theory of the world of Nicolaus Copernicus was formed in the form of seven postulates, which completely swept aside the geocentric system. She had a great influence on the formation of the worldview of the descendants of Copernicus in the study of the astronomical picture of the world.

Five hundred years of recognition

Active scientific activity of Copernicus continued until 1531. He concentrated on medicine, and as far as possible tried to finally prepare his scientific theory for publication. Historians and biographers of Copernicus do not agree on the question of whether he managed to see the book printed. On May 24, 1543, he died in a coma after a severe stroke. The remains of the grave of a brilliant Pole were discovered in Frombork Cathedral in 2005, identified and reburied with grandiose honors in the same place on May 20, 2010. Only in 1854 did Jan Baranowski publish the complete works of Copernicus in Polish and Latin.

Nicolaus Copernicus is immortalized by descendants in hundreds of monuments and names. The transuranium element of Mendeleev's Periodic Table No. 112 is called "copernicium". In the vastness of the universe lives a small planet (1322) Copernicus.

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Copernicus Nicholas (1473-1543) - an outstanding Polish astronomer, physician, mechanic, theologian, mathematician and economist. Lived and made discoveries during the Renaissance. He is the author of the heliocentric system of the world, Nicholas refuted the geocentric system of the ancient Greeks and suggested that the Sun is the central celestial body in the Universe, and the Earth and other planets revolve around it. Thus, by changing the model of the universe, Copernicus initiated the first scientific revolution.

Childhood

Nicholas was born in Torun, Royal Prussia, on February 19, 1473. His father, Nicolaus Copernicus Sr., was a merchant from Krakow. Mom, Barbara Watzenrode, was of German descent.

More than five hundred years have passed, the borders of states and their names have changed, so there are still disputes in which country the great astronomer was born and who he is by nationality. The city of Torun, only seven years before the birth of Copernicus, became part of the Kingdom of Poland. The nationality of the father is not known for certain.

The roots of the mother give full grounds for the assertion that ethnically Nikolai was at least half German. Perhaps because of his political and territorial affiliation, he himself considered himself a Pole. Only one thing is certain: Copernicus never wrote a single document in Polish, only in Latin and German.

Nikolai was the fourth child in the family. Two girls and a boy were born before him. One of the sisters (Barbara), becoming an adult, took her hair as a nun; the second (Katerina) got married and left Torun. She had five children, whom Nikolai loved very much. He took care of them until the end of his life, as if they were his own. Brother Andrzej became Nikolai's faithful companion and colleague, together they studied at universities, then traveled around half of Europe.

Since the father was a merchant, the family lived in abundance. But this happiness did not last long. When the youngest of the children, Nikolai, was only nine years old, an epidemic of plague broke out in Europe, which claimed tens of thousands of human lives. A terrible disease overtook the head of the Copernicus Sr. family, as a result of which he died. All worries about the family now fell on the shoulders of Barbara. It was hard for a woman to cope with everything, and her brother Lukasz Watzenrode took care of her children. In 1489, the mother also died, the children remained complete orphans in the care of their uncle.

Lukash was a local Catholic bishop, he was considered a skilled diplomat and was entrusted with various delicate assignments of a political nature. Uncle was very well-read and intelligent, doctor of canon law at the University of Bologna, master at the Krakow Jagiellonian University. Lukash's temperament was cool, while he loved his younger nephew Nikolai very much, gave him fatherly warmth and often spoiled him. In the younger Copernicus, the uncle saw his successor, so he instilled in him an interest in learning and a desire for education.

Education

Nikolai was fifteen years old when he graduated from the school of his native city, he received further education at the cathedral school of Vlotslavsk. It was here that he began to take a keen interest in astronomy. This was facilitated by a teacher who had an unusual surname Vodka. The teacher himself adhered to a sober lifestyle and asked his colleagues and students to call him Abstemius, which in Latin means "abstaining." Teacher Vodka was an excellent sundial. Communicating with him, Copernicus first thought about the fact that the Earth in relation to the Sun is located mutually.

In 1491, uncle Lukash made a patronage for his nephews Nicholas and Andrzej to enter the Krakow Jagiellonian University. This institution at that time was famous for its curricula in astronomy, mathematics and philosophy. The guys were admitted to the university at the faculty of art. Here an approach to science from a philosophical point of view was encouraged. The Copernicus brothers were engaged in an in-depth study of mathematics, theology, astronomy, medicine and theology. There was an intellectual atmosphere in the educational institution, which developed students' critical thinking.

At the University of Krakow, young Copernicus took up astronomy no longer on the level of idle interest, but quite seriously. He attended lectures by famous scientists.

In 1494, Nicholas graduated from the university, but did not receive any academic title. Together with his brother, he wanted to go to Italy to continue his studies. But there was no money for such a trip, and the brothers planned that their uncle Lukash, who by that time had become the Bishop of Emerland, would help them financially. However, the uncle said that he had no free money. He offered his nephews to earn money by becoming canons in his diocese, and then go to study abroad with the funds received.

Copernicus worked for a little over two years and in 1497 went to Italy. Uncle Lukash contributed to the fact that the nephew was given a three-year leave for study, was given an advance salary, and was also elected a canon in absentia to the diocese of Warmia.

Nikolai entered the oldest educational institution in Europe - the University of Bologna. He chose the Faculty of Law, where he studied canon ecclesiastical law. Students were taught ancient languages ​​(especially Nicholas was fascinated by the Greek language) and theology, and he again got the opportunity to study astronomy. The young Copernicus was also fascinated by painting, since then a canvas has survived to this day, which is considered a copy of his self-portrait. In Bologna, Nicholas met and began to communicate closely with the Italian scientist Scipio del Ferro, whose discoveries marked the beginning of the revival of European mathematics.

But decisive in the fate of Copernicus was the meeting with Professor of Astronomy Domenico Maria Novara de Ferrara. Together with a teacher, Nikolai made the first astronomical observation in his life, as a result of which they concluded that the distance to the Moon in quadrature is the same on the full moon and the new moon. After this observation, Copernicus for the first time doubted the validity of Ptolemy's theory, according to which the Earth is the center of the Universe with celestial bodies rotating around it.

After studying at the University of Bologna for three years, Nikolai had to return to his homeland, as the period of leave granted to him for study had ended. He again did not receive a diploma and a title. Arriving in 1500 at the place of service in the city of Frauenburg, they, together with their brother, again asked to postpone their return to work and provide leave in order to complete their studies.

In 1502, the request of the Copernicus brothers was granted, and they again went to Italy to further study medical science at the University of Padua.

In 1503, at the University of Ferrara, Nicholas nevertheless passed the exams and left the educational institution with a doctorate in canon law. Uncle Lukash allowed him not to return home, and Nikolai took up medical practice in Padua, Italy.

Scientific activity

In 1506, Copernicus received a letter stating that his uncle's condition had worsened (perhaps it was far-fetched). Nikolai went home. For the next six years, he lived in the bishop's castle of Heilsberg, acting as a confidant and secretary for Uncle Lukas, and was also his doctor. At the same time, he managed to engage in teaching activities in Krakow, conducted astronomical observations and developed a treatise on monetary reform.

In 1512 uncle Lukash died. Nicholas had to move to a small town on the banks of the Vistula Lagoon Frombork, where he was listed as a canon. Here he began to fulfill his church duties, and continued to engage in scientific observations. He worked alone, did not use any outside help or advice. There were no optical instruments then, and Copernicus conducted all his research from the northwestern tower of the fortress, which was located near the wall of the monastery. Here he set up his observatory.

When the new astronomical system clearly presented itself to his mind, Nikolai set to writing a book in which he decided to describe a different model of the world. He did not make a secret of his observations, he shared them with his friends, among whom there were many like-minded people.

By 1530, Nicholas had completed his first great work, On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres. In this work, he assumed that the Earth rotates around its axis during one day, and around the Sun during a year. For the time, it was an unimaginably fantastic idea. Until then, everyone considered the motionless Earth to be the center of the Universe, around which the stars, planets and the Sun revolve.

The news of a new outstanding astronomer quickly spread throughout Europe. At first, there was no persecution of the concept he proposed. First, Nikolai formulated his ideas very carefully. Secondly, for a long time the church fathers themselves could not decide whether to consider the heliocentric model of the world a heresy. So Copernicus was more fortunate than his followers Galileo Galilei and Giordano Bruno.

Copernicus was in no hurry to publish his book, since he was a perfectionist by nature, and believed that his observations should be double-checked several times. In total, he worked on the book for forty years, made changes, corrections and clarifications, and was engaged in the preparation of new calculated astronomical tables. The main work of the scientist was published in 1543, but he never found out about it, because he was already in a coma on his deathbed. Some details of this theory were corrected and finalized by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler in the future.

Copernicus was engaged not only in scientific, but also in practical activities:

• He developed a project, according to which a new monetary system was introduced in Poland.
• During the Polish-Teutonic War, he became the organizer of the defense of the bishops from the Teutons. After the conflict ended, he took part in peace negotiations, which resulted in the creation of the first Protestant state - the Duchy of Prussia.
• He designed a new water supply system in the city of Frombork, thanks to which a hydraulic machine was built and all houses were supplied with water.
• In 1519, as a doctor, he threw his forces into the elimination of the plague.

Since 1531, Nicholas devoted all his time only to the heliocentric system and gratuitous medical practice. As his health was getting worse, in many ways Copernicus was helped by like-minded people, friends and students.

Personal life

Nikolai was already over fifty years old when he first truly fell in love. In 1528, he met the young girl Anna, who was the daughter of his good friend Matz Schilling, who worked as a metal carver. Anna and Nikolai met in Copernicus' hometown of Torun.

Since he was a Catholic clergyman, it was forbidden for Nicholas to have relations with women and marry. Then he settled the girl in his house as a distant relative and housekeeper. But soon Anna was forced to leave the scientist's house, as the new bishop clearly and clearly explained to his subordinate that the church does not welcome such actions.

Illness and death

In 1542, Copernicus became much worse, completely paralyzed on the right side. In March 1543, he fell into a coma and remained in it until his death. On May 24, 1543, as a result of a stroke, the heart of the great scientist stopped.

For a long time the place of his burial was unknown. In 2005, archaeological excavations were carried out in the city of Frombork, as a result of which human remains were discovered - leg bones and a skull. The reconstruction of the skull, carried out by special methods, corresponded to the signs of Copernicus himself. It is known that the scientist had a broken bridge of the nose, and there was a scar above his left eye, such marks were also found on the found skull. The examination also determined that the skull belonged to a man who died at the age of seventy. We conducted a comparative DNA analysis of the discovered remains and hair found earlier in one of the books of Copernicus (this rarity was kept in the library of the Swedish University). As a result, it was revealed that these are indeed the remains of a great astronomer.

In 2010 they were reburied in Frombork Cathedral. A lot of monuments were erected to Copernicus throughout Poland, the university in Torun and the international airport in the city of Wroclaw bear his name. On one of the monuments there is an inscription: "He who stopped the Sun - moved the Earth."