Nicolaus Copernicus

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Nicolaus Copernicus summary

Nicolaus Copernicus

Q: Why is Nicolaus Copernicus famous?

Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer who proposed a heliocentric system , that the planets orbit around the Sun ; that Earth is a planet which, besides orbiting the Sun annually, also turns once daily on its own axis; and that very slow changes in the direction of this axis account for the precession of the equinoxes .

Q: Where did Nicolaus Copernicus study?

Nicolaus Copernicus studied liberal arts—including astronomy and astrology—at the University of Cracow ( Kraków ). He continued his studies at the University of Bologna and studied medicine at the University of Padua . He received a doctorate in canon law from the University of Ferrara, but he did not study there.

Q: What did Nicolaus Copernicus do for a living?

As a church canon, Nicolaus Copernicus worked for a bishopric in Poland collecting rents; securing military defenses; overseeing chapter finances; managing a bakery, brewery, and mills; and caring for the medical needs of the other canons. Copernicus’s astronomical work took place in his spare time, apart from these other obligations.

Q: How did Nicolaus Copernicus influence others?

Before Nicolaus Copernicus published his heliocentric theory, people generally agreed that the Moon and the Sun orbited the motionless Earth and that Mars , Jupiter , and Saturn were beyond the Sun in that order. Copernicus’s theory had important consequences for later thinkers of the scientific revolution, including such major figures as Galileo , Kepler , Descartes , and Newton .

Polish astronomer

Also known as: Mikołaj Kopernik, Nikolaus Kopernikus

Written by Robert S. Westman

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: May 20, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

Polish:: Mikołaj Kopernik

German:: Nikolaus Kopernikus

Born:: February 19, 1473, Toruń, Royal Prussia, Poland

Died:: May 24, 1543, Frauenburg, East Prussia [now Frombork, Poland] (aged 70)

Notable Works:: “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri VI”

Why is Nicolaus Copernicus famous?

Where did Nicolaus Copernicus study?

What did Nicolaus Copernicus do for a living?

How did Nicolaus Copernicus influence others?

Nicolaus Copernicus (born February 19, 1473, Toruń, Royal Prussia, Poland—died May 24, 1543, Frauenburg, East Prussia [now Frombork, Poland]) Polish astronomer who proposed that the planets have the Sun as the fixed point to which their motions are to be referred; that Earth is a planet which, besides orbiting the Sun annually, also turns once daily on its own axis; and that very slow long-term changes in the direction of this axis account for the precession of the equinoxes. This representation of the heavens is usually called the heliocentric, or “Sun-centred,” system—derived from the Greek helios, meaning “Sun.” Copernicus’s theory ...(100 of 2914 words)

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