Copernicus moves the Earth
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium proposed that the Earth orbits the Sun, published as its author lay dying.
Why it matters
More than a better calendar, it was a forced relocation of humanity from the center of the cosmos — the beginning of a long series of lessons in cosmic humility that runs through Darwin to modern cosmology.
People
Nicolaus Copernicus
Related events
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica — Nicolaus Copernicus