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Article: Copernicus, Nicolaus (1473–1543)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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COPERNICUS, NICOLAUS (1473
–
1543)
COPERNICUS, NICOLAUS
(1473
–
1543), Polish astronomer, born in Thorn (Torun), West Prussia, a province subject to the king of Poland. In about 1485, after his father's death, Nicolaus came under the care and patronage of his maternal uncle, who shortly afterward became bishop of Varmia (Ermland).
EDUCATION AND CAREER
Beginning in 1491, Copernicus enrolled successively at the universities of Cracow, Bologna, and Padua, where he studied, respectively, mathematics and astronomy, canon and civil law, and medicine. He was elected a canon of the cathedral chapter of Varmia in 1497, providing him with a lifetime income. In 1503 he was awarded ...