Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish-born astronomer, mathematician, physicist, canon and physician. He is known today for having developed and demonstrated the theory of heliocentrism, which holds that the Sun is at the center of the Universe and that the Earth revolves around it.
Although some Greek philosophers had put forward this theory centuries earlier, the scientific community put forward the theory of geocentrism (the Earth is fixed and at the center of the Universe). Heliocentrism was therefore an avant-garde theory. It was strongly criticized and rejected, even though it provided a rational explanation for many of the phenomena that geocentric scientists described only inconsistently. The reason for this condemnation was that heliocentrism called into question sacred texts. Indeed, at the time, it was believed that the Universe had been invented for Man. It was therefore only natural that the Earth should be the center of the Universe. That's why it's hard to believe that the Earth is a planet like all the others, and that the Sun is the true center of the Universe.
What's more, Copernicus was reluctant to publish his treatise on heliocentrism, as the theory threatened to turn the fields of science, philosophy and religion upside down. For these reasons, the first copy was printed just hours before his death. In the dedication, he appealed to Pope Paul III to claim the right to freedom of expression, in the name of their friendship and the truth.
Despite all the upheavals that heliocentrism created, many influential figures supported it over the following centuries, including Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, René Descartes and Johannes Kepler.
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1473: Nicolaus Copernicus is born on February 19, in Poland.
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1500: He gives a lecture on astronomy in Rome.
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1513: After observing the stars for several years, Copernicus prints and distributes to a few friends a treatise containing his theory of heliocentrism.
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1530: He wrote the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, his main work, which was published thirteen years later. In this text, he mathematically demonstrated his thesis of 1513.
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1543: Nicolaus Copernicus dies on May 24, in Poland.
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1616: On March 5, the astronomer's work is placed on the Index by Pope Paul V.
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1757: Copernicus' writings are removed from the Index.
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1820-1830: The Church admits that the Earth does indeed revolve around the sun.