24 May

1543: On 24 May 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus died.

Through his heliocentric theory, he became one of the most important figures in the history of scientific thought.

In 1514, Copernicus had written and discreetly circulated in manuscript his Commentariolus, the first outline of those arguments eventually described in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, 1543). This classic work challenged the Earth-centred cosmology that had been accepted since the time of Aristotle. In direct opposition to Aristotle, Copernicus proposed that a rotating Earth revolving with the other planets about a stationary central Sun could account in a simpler way for the observed phenomena such as the daily rotation of the heavens, and the periodic backward motion of the planets.

The proposal of the 'heliocentric' theory by Copernicus marked the beginning of the scientific revolution but a theory that reflected so profoundly on humanity was not welcomed by the church. It was only after the publication (1540) of Narratio prima (A First Account), by an enthusiastic supporter named Rheticus, that the aged Copernicus agreed to commit to print the theory already outlined in 1514. The story goes that Copernicus received a printed copy of his treatise on his deathbed, although this may be a myth.