Johannes Kepler was born on 27 December 1571 in Weil der Stadt. A German mathematician and astronomer, Kepler worked as assistant to Tycho Brahe in Prague and then as imperial mathematician to Emperor Rudolf II. Using Tycho's precise observations of Mars, he discovered that the planets move in ellipses with the Sun at one focus, and that they sweep out equal areas in equal times, laws published in 1609 in Astronomia nova. His third law, relating the orbital period to the size of the orbit, appeared in 1619 in Harmonices Mundi. He also made important contributions to optics and compiled the Rudolphine Tables of planetary positions. His laws later underpinned Newton's theory of gravitation.
Before and after
- from 1570 to 1573Ottoman–Venetian War of 1570–1573
- 24 June 1571Founding of Manila
- 29 September 1571Birth of Caravaggio
- 7 October 1571Battle of Lepanto
- 27 December 1571Birth of Johannes Kepler
- 1572Wilhelmus
- 1572Birth of John Donne
- 24 August 1572St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
- 11 November 1572Tycho's Supernova
More in Science & technology
- 1557Discovery of platinum
- 8 January 1642Death of Galileo Galilei
- 1656Pendulum clock
- 1669Discovery of phosphorus
- 1735Discovery of cobalt
- 1755Discovery of magnesium
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.