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Article: Kepler, Johannes (1571–1630)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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KEPLER, JOHANNES (1571
–
1630)
KEPLER, JOHANNES
(1571
–
1630), German astronomer and mathematician; discoverer of the laws of planetary motion. Born into the Protestant minority in the free city of Weil der Stadt, within the Lutheran duchy of W
ü
rttemberg, Kepler's family was poised at the boundary between the aristocracy and the artisan class. His father and brother Heinrich both served as soldiers; his youngest brother worked as a tinsmith. Kepler was educated at religious schools supported by the duke of W
ü
rttemberg, and at the University of T
ü
bingen. Here he studied with theologians trained by Philipp Melanchthon (1497
–
1560), the great German ...