Johannes Kepler
1571–1630 · German · Scientific Revolution
Known for: Discovered the three laws of planetary motion describing elliptical orbits
Kepler discovered that planets orbit the Sun in ellipses, not circles—shattering 2,000 years of astronomical dogma about the perfection of circular motion. His three laws of planetary motion became the foundation for Newton's theory of gravity. He achieved this by painstakingly analyzing Tycho Brahe's precise observational data, spending years of calculation that would take a modern computer seconds.
His life was a litany of misfortune: born prematurely to an unstable family, his father was a mercenary who abandoned them, his mother was tried for witchcraft, he was sickly and nearly blind, and he died on a journey to collect unpaid wages. Despite all this, he produced some of the most beautiful science in history.
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