Tycho Brahe was born in 1546 and died in 1601. Brahe! was famous because he was an incredibly meticulous nighttime observer who dedicated hours to documenting the positions of celestial objects. Brahe became known as the best astronomical observer. He was also known for his famous observation machine that rotated and allowed Brahe to track those objects night after night.
From 1577 to 1580, Queen Elizabeth hired Francis Drake to travel around the entire globe on sea, a process known as circumnavigation. Drake traveled through the Magellan Straight but was blown extremely off-course by winds and storms. His ship was brought to an area called Tierra del Fuego, which he then discovered was part of the Antarctic, not a southern continent. He then became known as the first Antarctic explorer.
In 1600, the British East India Company was chartered. This British Empire trading conglomerate became one of if not the most powerful and militant forces on the planet during the 17th century. This company is famous not only for its trade but for its expansion and control of several Asian, Indian, and South American countries.
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616. He is a very famous historical figure who was alive at the same time as Tycho Brahe (and a few of the other famous astronomers). Shakespeare is perhaps the most renowned writer and poet from the 16th and 17th centuries, and he is known for his works such as Romeo and Juliet, a Midsummer Nights Dream, and Hamlet. Besides being famous for his works while he was alive and for transferring them to stages for audiences of all wealth statuses, Shakespeare is still prolific and relevant today, as works like Romeo and Juliet and Othello are still analyzed and taught in schools today.
Doing this assignment helped me realize how much overlap there is between historic and life-changing moments. I tend to very easily break history into segments and compartmentalize historical events into different eras and countries, but writing about Brahe and the famous events that occurred during his lifetime as well as reading that Shakespeare was alive at that time truly helped me realize that the fabric of history is so tightly woven together and we have so much more in common cross-culturally than I often think we do.
Sir Isaac Newton was born on January 5, 1643 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England to Hannah Ayscough and Isaac Newton Sr. During his lifetime he made enormous contributions of the field of physics, math and astronomy. He invented calculus jointly with Gottfried Leibniz (another famous mathematician), and created the theory of gravity. This work in the laws of motion and gravity formed the early beginnings of modern physics that we still use today. He died in Kensington, London, England in his sleep on March 21, 1727.
In art, the style of architecture that was gaining popularity was English Baroque that occurred after the Great London fire in 1666. Since the fire had flattened some of the landscape, architectures of this time had a blank slate to work with. This style was used to display power and was mainly used by rulers and the Church.
Born to a wealthy Anglican family in Tower Hill, London on October 14, 1644, William Penn was important because he was one of the original group of Quakers (who were facing religious persecution in England at this time) to draft a plan to settle in New Jersey. His democratic proposals for this settlement were some ideas that influenced the U.S. Constitution which included freedom of religion, fair elections, no unjust imprisonment, and fair and free trials by jury. He would then go on to become one of the founders of Pennsylvania through familial debt owed by English King Charles II. He dies in July 30, 1718 in Berkshire, UK due to a stroke.
All in all, I think the contextualization of Isaac Newton being alive at the same time as the colonization of America was very eye opening to me. I also find it interesting that some of the famous astronomers also helped each other; I think I always thought that “there cannot be two great people alive at once,” so I thought they didn’t live at the same time or something.
The astronomer Tycho Brahe was born on December 14th, 1546 in Knutstorp Castle, Scania, Denmark–Norway and died on October 24th, 1601 (aged 54) in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire . You can find more info on him at the following website.
During Brahe’s lifetime, Sir Francis Drake became a part of the third voyage to circumnavigate the world from 1577-1580. Additionally, in 1598, the Edict of Nantes was signed, ending the French civil war known as the French War of Religions. The Edict of Nantes granted civil rights to the minority Protestants, setting a precedent for religious equality. You can find more information about Sir Francis Drake and the Edict of Nantes here and here, respectively.
Sir Walter Raleigh lived at the same time as Brahe and was famous for building England’s first American colony in Roanoke and leading the famous expedition to El Dorado. He was important because he started England’s colonization of the Americas. You can find more information about Sir Walter Raleigh here.
Sir Walter Raleigh
It was interesting seeing how the European world was very fragmented from each other and separated from the Americas during the 16th century. Many European countries didn’t recognize civil rights for minorities, were at war with each other, and were trying to find gold to leverage against one another. All of the astronomers in this homework lived in tumultuous times with political and social uncertainty. Consequently, it’s hard to believe that there were enough highly educated aristocrats that could make such important discoveries in astronomy.
Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy. He died on January 8, 1642, in Arcetri, Italy. You can find more great information about him here.
Historical events
The first Japanese invasion of Korea happened in 1592. As a response, Ming China sent an army to Korea to ward off the Japanese invaders and caused the caused a war that didn’t end until 1598. You can find out why this war was so important by visiting this site.
Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock via the Mayflower on November 11, 1620, after a long voyage of 66 days. The passengers of the Mayflower were in search of a place where they could start anew and have the freedom they strongly desired. You can find out more about the journey of the pilgrims by clicking here.
Non-astronomy Related Historical Figure
William Shakespeare was said to have been born around April 23, 1564, and died on April 23, 1616. He was a famous English poet, playwright, and actor who is coined as the most influential English writer in all of history. You can learn more about how great of an impact Shakespeare made on the English language from this site.
Reflection
It was interesting learning how different astronomers can influence the work of later astronomers. Although some astronomers did make observations all on their own, there are some who still did some extraordinary work by analyzing the data and observations of astronomers before them. It’s also interesting to see just how many significant events can happen all at one time. There are so many groundbreaking discoveries, major wars, and important people that reside all in the same time period. Many important events were happening all over the world, not just in one country. It’s interesting to see how these events across the world affect each other in different time periods.
Galileo was born in Italy on February 15, 1564 and died in January of 1642 after several years on house arrest. However, conversations of his life’s work has spanned centuries. I have come to know him once again as I am in a class on Galileo and his trials.
Within the conversations on modern day astronomy Galileo Galilei, the first person to observe using a telescope, contribution is widely discussed based on both its contribution to the field but the impact it had on conversations between science and religion. History (2020) notes that on April 12th of 1633 was sentenced by the Catholic Church for publicising and defending his belief that the Earth Orbits the Sun. This discovery that the Sun had a fixed position and Earth orbited it contradicted church scripture. Several centuries later, the Church recognised the validity of Galileo’s discovery. In my opinion, as an astronomical figure Galileo’s journey highlighted the disjointed relationship between religion and science. Moreover, the eventual acceptance highlighted that there is space for astronomy and religion to exist in the world.
Did You Know Galileo and Shakespeare Were Born Within the Same Year?
Galileo Galilei (left) and William Shakespeare (right) by Outlook
According to Associated Press (2019), just a few months after the birth of Galileo, William Shakespeare was born on April 23rd, 1564. It is famously regarded that Shakespeare died on his Birthday at 52 years old in 1616.
Finding out that Galileo and Shakespeare were age mates did wonders in situating the world they both lived in at the same time despite being focused on different fields of study. From personal experience, school-aged children are often acquainted with both figures separately but never together. In light of this exercise, it has been wonderful to see the contributions of the 1500s in terms of the figures who are mentioned relentlessly in curriculum today.
What Else Happened During Galileo’s Time on Earth?
Cartwright (2020) highlights that after a 3-year journey, Francis Drake became the first Englishman and second person to circumnavigate the globe. Although he was not the first, which occurred about 50 years prior to his expedition, the voyage contributed further evidence that the Earth was a globe instead of a flat plane. Learn even more about circumnavigation history here!
Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643 and died on March 31, 1727. He contributed immensely to the study of astronomy, as he invented the reflecting telescope, calculus, and the theory of gravitation. His contributions to both science and mathematics truly bolstered the pursuit of astronomy and cemented him as one of, if not, the greatest genius of all time.
Several wars ended during Newton’s life. In 1648, the Thirty Years War, a grueling war fought across the face of Europe between Catholic and Protestant forces, ended with the Peace of Westphalia. The English Civil Wars occurred from 1642 to 1651, and witnessed the overthrow of English royalty at the hands of Parliament as well as conflict between all three Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
The French Enlightenment writer, philosopher, and historian Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) lived during Newton’s lifetime. Voltaire is known for his satirical and philosophical writings on the Roman-Catholic Church, government, society, and the slave trade.
I find it interesting how much the lives of such significant astronomers overlapped. Although many never interacted with each other, it is surprising to know the extent of scientific and mathematical breakthroughs that occurred alongside the amount of destruction and war plaguing Europe in the span of a couple of centuries.
Posted inHistorical|Taggedastro2110, HW2, Newton|Comments Off on Historical Astronomers in Context – Isaac Newton
You may be wondering… why is there a football? Good question. You will see. Anyways, we’re talking about old dudes who studied the sky. Doesn’t sound very interesting, right? But some of them were pretty cool. I mean, not like Hannibal riding elephants cool, but about 2 log scales below that. Anyways, we got some people living in the 15th to 16th centuries. A long time ago. All of them were European (bland), but their knowledge built on that of the Greeks, Muslims of the Middle East, the Iberians, and Northern Africa. So there was a tad bit more diversity. Regardless, they were Nicholas Copernicus (February 19, 1473- May 24, 1543), Tycho Brahe (December 14, 1546- October 24, 1601), Galileo Galilei (February 15, 1564- January 8, 1642), Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571- November 15, 1630), Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643- March 31, 1727). Those dates are relatively meaningless.
Looking at the dates, there is a wide range of over two and a half centuries. There is some overlap however. Brahe lived 30 years with Kepler before dying, and 37 overlapping with Galileo before passing away. Kepler outlived Brahe, and managed to live a 71 year overlap with Galileo before dying 12 years before him. Copernicus and Newton lived before or after, respectively, these other three.
Without context, the time periods are also vague. The backdrop is the ending of the Renaissance, a flourishing of science and art stemming from the reinvigoration of the Dark Age by the Muslim knowledge. Though debated as to when it officially ended, most consider it to be well finished by the time in which Kepler was born, and definitely by the time his work had begun. This led to advancements across Europe in a wide array of subjects. Since these people are all European, we won’t dive into the rich and vast powers of Asia, despite their considerable contributions and their advanced technology compared to Europe up to this point. Other notable events include the invention of the microscope by Janssen in the Netherlands, which could magnify three to nine times its original size. Occhilolino, an improved version, was later built by Galileo in 1609. (LiveScience). Another event was the signing of the Mayflower Compact in the new world by the Separatists in 1620. The American colonies were beginning to grow rapidly at this time, and formal government was becoming present in the New World under a British Regime as well. (Study.com)
Johannes Kepler was an astronomer of the late 16th century to early 17th century. He began as say, an employee, of Brahe. They didn’t always vibe well, but ultimately Brahe’s death gave Kepler some of the best cosmic data ever gathered up to that point. Using this data, he defended Copernican ideas of heliocentricity but using new mathematics. For example, his three laws of planetary motion developed the ideas of elliptical orbits (which fixed the previous problems in predictive astronomy), changing planetary speeds at different points along the orbit, and a mathematical relationship based on (average) distance from the star and its time of orbit. Furthermore, his math developed the beginning of integrals, he first predicted the year of Jesus’s birth, and he made advancements in optics and lenses as well. (NASA)
The famous person I chose as living at the same time as Kepler is St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi. She was a Carmelite nun who lived from 1566-1607. She is well known for her love of God, her intense prayer life, and her mystical experiences. Her faithfulness in the midst of the sufferings she experienced are not only an example to Christians, but all who desire to grow stronger in their will and fortitude. Her mysticism also shows that God still works wonders in our world. She died at age forty-one, having lived a life that was beautiful and fantastic. (Catholic Online)
That’s why the football is the stock photo at the title screen. Though soccer is indeed the superior sport, not even the spherical ball with an eccentricity of 0 could possibly describe orbits. Kepler developed the idea of elliptical orbits, making a football shaped outlined around the sun. The context surrounding his life is important. Though the Renaissance had ended, his work continued the scientific contributions it had begun. His mathematics, for example, had set the foundation for Newton’s later bounds in calculus. His mathematics in refraction and lens allowed for greater advances in telescopes and microscopes. Finally, most important, he overturned thousands of years of astronomy with finally proving heliocentricity once and for all. We forget that although he made such bounds in science, he was not operating in a separate universe. There were political movements occurring, with the New World growing in population and empires expanding across the Atlantic. There was still religious mysticism, which many think oppose science. It is interesting to look at him placed back in the timeline with not only science, but also everything else going on. Anyway, thanks for reading! Come back soon!
Tycho Brahe is one crazy dude. Mostly awesome crazy. He was born December 14, 1546, and died October 24, 1601. Tycho Brahe was the greatest naked eye observer of all time. He had incredibly great vision and documented what he saw. He was relatively well off and was about to build a contraption which allowed him to observe the sky through a slot at very specific angles and record his findings.
He is also known for losing half his nose in a sword fight, a duel over his mathematical abilities. He wore a silver nose cap. Pretty crazy.
During his lifetime, a couple events that happened include the English Renaissance and the collapse of the Songhai Empire. The Renaissance lasted roughly a century and was an era of significant social, literary, artistic, scientific, and religious revolution. The fall of the Songhai empire happened in 1591 and was a result of locals refusing to fight for the Islamic elites, thus leading to a successful take over by Moroccan forces.
Another famous individual alive during Brahe’s life time was William Shakespeare! Shakespeare, April 1564-April 1616, is regarded as one of if not the world’s most famous playwright. He wrote over 30 plays and 150 sonnets.
It’s interesting to see where astronomers and other events/ people fall and overlap throughout time. Galileo also lived within the same period at Brahe. I wonder, did Galileo ever work with Kepler and Brahe at all? Or did they use any of each other’s works? It is always a little unnerving but very cool to make connections between people and events in history.
Born in late 16th century Italy, Galileo Galilei (February 15, 1564 – January 8, 1642) went on to make fundamental contributions to STEM fields and laid the foundations for the scientific revolution. In the field of astronomy, he improved upon existing designs for the telescope. Galileo’s improvements made the tool much more powerful and allowed him to discover: the phases of Venus and the moon, craters on the moon, four of Jupiter’s moons, and sunspots as features of the sun. These heavenly imperfections sealed his belief in the heliocentric model, laid the foundations for later acceptance of the Copernican model, and made him a target of the church. In addition to his incredible contributions to astronomy, Galileo also made significant contributions to math and science. He argued that nature and math were inextricably linked and could be studied experimentally and created formulas for parabolic trajectories, circular motion, and the motion of falling bodies.
Contemporaneous Historical Events
The Time of Troubles: In 1613, the establishment of the House of Romanov as the legitimate rulers of Russia ended a violent period (1598-1613) of economic, social, and political crises. With the end of the “Time of Troubles,” the Romanovs began their three centuries of rule.
Sakoku: In 1639, the Tokugawa Shogunate—the ruling military dictators—instituted a strict isolationist policy that expelled foreigners, outlawed foreign trade (barring a few highly regulated exceptions), and prohibited entry to and exit from Japan. This policy would remain in place until Commodore Perry’s famous expedition to Tokyo Bay in 1853
Contemporaneous Historical Figure
Gustavus Adolphus (December 9, 1594 – November 6, 1632) reigned as the King of Sweden from 1611 until his death during the Thirty Years’ War. Although current and past militaries have hailed him as the “Father of (Modern Combined Arms) Warfare,” his home country remembers him more for his domestic achievements—including constitutional, judicial, and educational reforms that laid the foundation for Sweden’s prominence as a modern powerhouse on the international stage.
Context Matters
I enjoyed learning this context because it is important to pay homage and due respect to the foundational members of science; it’s important to know where we come from and how science builds on every discovery and every advancement. We do ourselves a disservice when we take the accomplishments of past experts for granted. I also find it important to highlight how we know things are true and how science always finds a way—especially in times of heightened distrust of science and academia. As someone who wants to teach history, I also find the formulation of a mental timeline indispensable for placing events and people in context. I hope to have a physical class timeline for my future students to fill in with key information to help facilitate their own understanding of the past. Learning more about the events that occurred simultaneously on opposite sides of the world can be fascinating in its own right, but especially when it can illuminate lesser-known events, people, and cultures.
Nicholas Copernicus was the creator of heliocentric theory: the idea that the Earth orbits the Sun, rather than the other way around. He also correctly theorized that the seasons were caused by Earth’s axial tilt. His discoveries paved the way for future astronomers, but in his day, he was regarded as a heretic by the Church.
The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 with the publishing of the 95 Theses, during the lifetime of Copernicus. Led by Martin Luther, this religious movement challenged the Catholic Church paved the way for reductions in the power of the Church.
Christopher Columbus’s first journey to the Americas occurred in 1492, during the lifetime of Copernicus. Columbus’s “discovery” led to the expansion of European colonization of the Americas.
King Henry VIII of England lived at the same time as Copernicus; he was born on June 28th, 1491 and died on January 28th, 1547. Henry VIII is historically notorious for having six wives, including Anne Boleyn, who he had executed. Henry also challenged the Catholic Church by pursuing a divorce from his wife Catherine, leading to a schism between the centralized Catholic Church in Rome and the Church of England.
This assignment helped me contextualize the discoveries of Copernicus and the other great astronomers. The period of Copernicus’s life is well known for Columbus, Henry VIII, and other major historical events, but I hadn’t given real thought to the timing of scientific discovery in the same period. I think that science is a part of history, which is why I’m surprised to realize that I had separated Copernicus from his era in my mind.
