Copernicus' Death

On May 24, 1543,  Nicolaus Copernicus died in what is now Frombork, Poland. 

In 1543, European astronomers argued that Earth lay at the center of the universe, the view also held by most ancient philosophers and biblical writers. In addition to correctly theorizing the order of the known planets, including Earth, from the sun, and estimating their orbital periods approximately , Copernicus argued that Earth turned daily on its axis and that gradual shifts of this axis accounted for the changing seasons.

He died in 1543, the day his major work, which was a book titled ,"On The Revolutions of the Celestial Bodies" was published, saving him from the outrage of some religious leaders ,who later condemned his heliocentric view of the universe as heresy. By the late 18th century, the Copernican view of the solar system was almost universally accepted.

Frombork Cathedral

Copernicus was reportedly buried in Frombork Cathedral, where archaeologists for over two centuries searched in for his remains. Efforts to locate the remains in 1802, 1909, 1939 and 2004 had not succeeded. In August 2005, however, a team led by Jerzy Gąssowski, head of an archaeology and anthropology institute in Pułtusk, after scanning beneath the cathedral floor, discovered what they believed to be Copernicus' remains.

The find came after a year of searching, and the discovery was announced only after further research, on 3 November 2008. Gąssowski said he was "almost 100 percent sure it is Copernicus". Forensic expert Capt. Dariusz Zajdel of the Polish Police Central Forensic Laboratory used the skull to reconstruct a face that closely resembled the features, including a broken nose and a scar above the left eye. The expert also determined that the skull belonged to a man who had died around age 70 which was Copernicus' age at the time of his death.

Capt. Dariusz Zajdel's reconstruction of Copernicus' face.

The grave was in poor condition, and not all the remains of the skeleton were found; missing, among other things, was the lower jaw. The DNA from the bones found in the grave matched hair samples taken from a book owned by Copernicus which was kept at the library of the University of Uppsala in Sweden.

University of Uppsala  crest.

 On 22 May 2010 Copernicus was given a second funeral in a Mass led by Józef Kowalczyk. Copernicus' remains were reburied in the same spot in Frombork Cathedral where part of his skull and other bones had been found. A black granite tombstone now identifies him as the founder of the Heliocentric Theory and also a church priest. The tombstone bears a representation of Copernicus' model of the solar system,a golden sun encircled by six of the planets.

Fun Facts About Nicolaus Copernicus

Please watch this  interesting Prezi about Copernicus.

A Prezi About Copernicus

Please watch this interisting and informative Prezi (most of the information in  this Prezi is already on the blog.)

Nicolaus Copernicus Monument,Torun

The Nicolaus Copernicus Monument is erected in the  Old Marketplace, in front of the Town Hall. 

Nicolaus Copernicus Monument in Torun

Fryderyk Abraham Tieck, a sculptor from Berlin created the statue in 1853 commissioned from the German Copernicus Society. It is a cast bronze statue representing Copernicus in a professor's robe, holding an armillary shere in his left hand.

There is an inscription in Latin engraved on the granite plaque which says,"Nicolaus Copernicus, a citizen of Toruń, moved the earth and halted the Sun and the sky".

Copernicus Monument in Warsaw,Poland

The Copernicus Monument

The Copernicus Monument is a bronze statue of Copernicus holding a compass and an armillary sphere. This statue was designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen in 1822 and erected in 1828-30. The monument was funded by public donations and scientist and philosopher Stanisław Staszic. The statue was supposed to be erected in Torun, Copernicus' home town but instead got erected in Warsaw.

During World War II, the Nazi's placed a plaque on the monument claiming that Copernicus was a German. A boy scout, called Aleksy Dawidowski, bravely removed the plaque away in 1942. This made the Nazi's very angry and they removed the statue and hid it in Silesia. They also dynamited a few surrounding monuments. 

Aleksy Dawidowski

They planned to melt the monument down but had to retreat before they had a chance to. The monument was brought back to Warsaw on the 22 July 1945. It then got renovated and unveiled again on 22 July 1949.

 Due to his bravery, Aleksy Dawidowski made it into Polish Folklore as a great hero. The bronze plaque is held in the Warsaw History Museum. 

Warsaw History Museum

In 2007, a model of the Heliocentric Solar System was put up in front of the monument. The model was based on a picture from Copernicus' book, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium . The statue was vandalized in July 2008. The stolen parts were soon recovered.

A model of Copernicus' Heliocentric  System

There are replicas of the Copernicus Monument in Montreal and Chicago.

A Video about Copernicus

Please watch this interesting video about Copernicus and the  Heliocentric Solar System.

Copernicus' Education

Since Copernicus' father died when he was 11 years old, Lucas Watzenrode the Younger, his uncle looked after him and saw to his education. Copernicus first got sent to St.John's school, were his uncle had been a master.  He then got sent to the Cathedral School at Włocławek, up the Vistula River. This prepared him for the  University of Kraków.

Despite Copernicus going to a lot of universities, there is no record of him earning a bachelor's degree. From 1491-92, Copernicus studied at  the University of Kraków with his brother, Andreas. Copernicus studied Astronomy under the wing of Albert Brudzewski. The two formed a wonderful relationship with each other and shared many interests.

Copernicus and his brother then went to Italy in 1497 and studied at the University of Padua. There it is said that he gave private lessons on astronomy. He later moved on to the University of Bologna. In Bologna he met Domenico Maria Novara, who was his Astronomy and mathematics professor. Together the two came up with theories of the universe. While other people's theories during the Renaissance were based on Christian law, Copernicus' were based on scientific facts.

Today, there is an university dedicated to Nicolaus Copernicus in Torun.

Coperniucs' Fake Book

Please look at my Fake Book account for Copernicus.

Copernicus' Family

Copernicus was born into a wealthy family on 19th February in Toruń, Poland. His father is Nicolaus Copernicus Sr. and his mother is Barbara Watzenrode. He was the youngest of four children and had one brother, Andreas Copernicus and two sisters, Barbara Copernicus and Katharina Copernicus. His father died when he was only 11 years old and his uncle, Lucas Watzenrode the Younger, looked after him during his childhood. Barbara Copernicus grew up to be a nun and Katharina married a wealthy businessman. Copernicus' mother died in 1495. Copernicus' name is also sometimes spelled as Koperek , Kopernik

Koppernigk, Copernik, Copernici or Coppernicus with two p's.

Twister Account For Copernicus

Introducing Copernicus

Copernicus was an astronomer during the Renaissance period. He came up with the theory of the Heliocentric Solar System. He was born in Poland in February 1473. His father died when he was 11 years old and his uncle, Lucas Watzenrode the Younger, looked after him for the rest of his childhood. Copernicus has two sisters and one brother. Copernicus did not go to university, which was normal during the Renaissance era. Copernicus worked in the Catholic Church and astronomy was only a hobby until 1503. In 1543, in the year of his death, he published a book on his theories called De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium. 

Nicolaus Copernicus