Wikipedia →

Johannes Kepler

1571–1630 · Germany / Prague
Johannes Kepler

Description

Johannes Kepler was a German polymath who was an astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and music theorist. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of planetary motion, and his books Astronomia nova, Harmonice Mundi, and Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae. The variety and impact of his work made Kepler one of the founders and fathers of modern astronomy, the scientific method, natural science, and modern science. He has been described as the "father of science fiction" for his novel Somnium.

Facts

Born(1571-12-27)27 December 1571, Free Imperial City of Weil der Stadt, Holy Roman Empire
Died15 November 1630(1630-11-15) (aged 58), Free Imperial City of Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire
EducationTübinger Stift, University of Tübingen (MA)
Known forKepler's laws of planetary motion Kepler conjecture Kepler's equation Rudolphine Tables
Fieldsastronomyastrologymathematicsnatural philosophy
Doctoral advisorMichael Maestlin

Life & work in brief

Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.

Work / contributionSignificance
Early lifeKepler was born on 27 December 1571, in the Free Imperial City of Weil der Stadt (now part of the Stuttgart Region in the German state of Baden-Württemberg).
Scientific careerOnce established in Prague, he was supported directly by Tycho, who assigned him to analyzing planetary observations and writing a tract against Tycho's (by then deceased) rival, Ursus.
Later lifeDuring Kepler's time in Prague, religious and political tensions were building up in the Empire, both between Protestants and Catholics, and within the Habsburg dynasty over the issue of succession.
AstronomyKepler's first major astronomical work was Mysterium Cosmographicum (The Cosmographic Mystery, 1596).
Tides and GravityKepler's writings about the tides are found in a number of his works.
AstrologyLike Ptolemy, Kepler considered astrology as the counterpart to astronomy, and as being of equal interest and value.
MusicKepler was convinced "that the geometrical things have provided the Creator with the model for decorating the whole world".
OpticsAs Kepler slowly continued analyzing Tycho's Mars observations—now available to him in their entirety—and began the slow process of tabulating the Rudolphine Tables, Kepler also picked up the investigation of the laws of optics from his lunar essay of 1600.
Mathematics and physicsAs a New Year's gift that year (1611), he also composed for his friend and some-time patron, Baron Wackher von Wackhenfels, a short pamphlet entitled Strena Seu de Nive Sexangula (A New Year's Gift of Hexagonal Snow).
LegacyKepler's laws of planetary motion were not immediately accepted.
WorksA critical edition of Kepler's collected works (Johannes Kepler Gesammelte Werke, KGW) in 22 volumes is being edited by the Kepler-Kommission (founded 1935) on behalf of the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften.