Johannes Kepler
Astronomer, Mathematician, Witch-Defender, and ladies man.
Here's some basic info
"I demonstrate by means of philosophy that the earth is round, and is inhabited on all sides; that it is insignificantly small, and is borne through the stars"
- Johannes Kepler
Yes, he looks like Shakespeare.
- Kepler was born during December 27th of 1571 in Weil der Stadt, Württemberg of the Holy Roman Empire.
- He was born into a poor Lutheran family
- Received scholarship to the Universitat auf Tübingen due to his superior intelligence.
- During his years at the university, Kepler grew fond of the astronomer Copernicus theories on the solar system.
- Kepler moved to Prague to escape the Lutherans and Catholics during the 30-Years War. He began working for astronomer Tycho Brahe.
- His first book, Astronomia Nova, was published in 1609. It includes his first two laws of planetary motion, along with the creation of scientific method.
- During Kepler's first marriage, both his wife and 2 sons died. He remarried soon after, only to lose the two new children his second wife had given him. After all this, he returned to Württemberg to defend his mother against charges of witchcraft, which he did successfully. I guess you could say he had a pretty crazy personal life.
- In the midst of his family tragedy, Kepler managed to publish his third law of planetary motion in the book Harmonices Mundi.
- Kepler died on November 15th, 1630 in Regensburg, Germany at the age of 59.