Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus on This Day in History

This Day in History: Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus died on this day in 1543. His major achievement was formulating a model of the universe that placed the Sun (heliocentrism) rather than Earth (geocentrism) at the center of the universe, which put him at odds with the prevailing theology of the time. As John Calvin wrote in his Commentary on Genesis: "We indeed are not ignorant that the circuit of the heavens is finite, and that the earth, like a little globe, is placed in the centre." Because he feared religious persecution, he did not officially publish his work until he was on his death-bed. Copernicus dedicated his book to the Pope, but the Catholic Church repudiated it and placed it on the Index of Prohibited Books. In 1633, 90 years after his death, the Church convicted astronomer Galileo Galilei of "strong suspicion of heresy" for espousing Copernicus's theory of heliocentrism. After a day in prison, Galileo spent the rest of his life under house arrest (much like the rest of us in 2020).

See also: The Trial of Galileo by A Mezieres 1877
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-trial-of-galileo-by-mezieres-1877.html

400 Books that have CHANGED the World on TWO DVDroms
https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2018/06/400-books-that-have-changed-world-on.html