Tycho Brahe, 1546-1601
At once a nobelman, scientist, astronomer, noseless dueling mathetician, and extravagant party planner, Tycho Brahe's obscenely accurate - in a world that was yet to see the telescope - astronomical observations provided Johannes Kepler with the data he would need to construct his laws of planetary motion.
Brahe was born in Skåne, which is now part of Sweden. This was part of Denmark during Brahe's life and thus, the Danes claim him. He was born to a high ranking Danish noble family and was later kidnapped by a wealthy uncle who would send the young Tycho to study to become a lawyer. Oh the fun of 16th century nobility!
When he was 13, Tycho witnessed a solar eclipse, learned that they could be predicted, and was hooked on astronomy for life. When he was 20, he had a duel over a mathematical formula (!) and lost part of / most of his nose. Being a man of wealth and taste, he fashioned a prosthesis out of - what people at the time claimed - gold. It was more than likely brass.
He spent the rest of his life amassing astonishing wealth, building larger, more accurate, and more expensive observation equipment, and partying like it was 1599. He even had a tamed elk that would accompany him to parties. He built a massive observatory on the island of Hven, Uranienborg.
Tycho essentially enslaved the people of Hven, forcing them to build and operate and the observatory. They were not allowed to leave the island without either his or the King of Denmark's consent. In Tycho's defense he probably wasn't any worse than other nobility of the time. It is estimated that at one point his wealth was equal to that of 1% of the entire Danish kingdom.
Brahe may be one of the last great astronomer / astrologers. His work bridges the gap between pre-telescope and telescope as well as mysticism and science in astronomy.
Today, the planetarium in Copenhagen bears his name, as well as craters on the moon and Mars.
Brahe was born in Skåne, which is now part of Sweden. This was part of Denmark during Brahe's life and thus, the Danes claim him. He was born to a high ranking Danish noble family and was later kidnapped by a wealthy uncle who would send the young Tycho to study to become a lawyer. Oh the fun of 16th century nobility!
When he was 13, Tycho witnessed a solar eclipse, learned that they could be predicted, and was hooked on astronomy for life. When he was 20, he had a duel over a mathematical formula (!) and lost part of / most of his nose. Being a man of wealth and taste, he fashioned a prosthesis out of - what people at the time claimed - gold. It was more than likely brass.
He spent the rest of his life amassing astonishing wealth, building larger, more accurate, and more expensive observation equipment, and partying like it was 1599. He even had a tamed elk that would accompany him to parties. He built a massive observatory on the island of Hven, Uranienborg.
Tycho essentially enslaved the people of Hven, forcing them to build and operate and the observatory. They were not allowed to leave the island without either his or the King of Denmark's consent. In Tycho's defense he probably wasn't any worse than other nobility of the time. It is estimated that at one point his wealth was equal to that of 1% of the entire Danish kingdom.
Brahe may be one of the last great astronomer / astrologers. His work bridges the gap between pre-telescope and telescope as well as mysticism and science in astronomy.
Today, the planetarium in Copenhagen bears his name, as well as craters on the moon and Mars.
To read more, check out any / all of these sources.
- Courtney Seligman's excellent biography
- The Tycho Brahe wiki
It's fairly likely that I got things wrong, please correct me where need be!
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