Tycho Brahe: (12/14/1546 – 10/24/1601)
The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre occurred in Paris on August 24th and 25th in 1572. This massacre was orchestrated by the Catholic Catherine de Medici, carried out by Catholic noblemen and citizens, and resulted in the slaughter of French Huguenots (protestants).
In February 1570, Queen Elizabeth I of England was excommunicated by Pope Pius V. In this order of excommunication, Pius deemed her a heretic and freed the English Catholics of their loyalty to her.
Henry Hudson was an English explorer who lived at essentially the same time as Tycho Brahe. He is known for his expeditions into eastern North America in present-day Canada and the northeastern United States.
It was a very interesting experience researching the life of Tycho Brahe, especially in the context of other significant socio-political events. It is amazing to me how, while major advancements were being made in astronomy through the works of Brahe, physical and political battles over religion were being fought in countries right nearby. Similarly, discoveries of the great beyond coincided directly with discoveries made of our own world, like the expeditions into the New World directed by Henry Hudson. This reminded me of the incredible world we live in today, where there are constantly significant advancements being made in all fields from astronomy to technology to economics to medicine.