Johannes Kepler died on 15 November 1630 in Regensburg, aged 58. 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
- 1630Founding of Everett
- 1630Founding of Watertown
- 29 May 1630Birth of Charles II of England
- 7 September 1630Founding of Boston
- 15 November 1630Death of Johannes Kepler
- from 20 May 1631 to 24 May 1631Sack of Magdeburg
- from 1632 to 1634Smolensk War
- 1632Founding of University of Tartu
- 1632Founding of University of Amsterdam
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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 17th century.