Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe (born Tyge Ottesen Brahe) (December 14, 1546 – October 24 1601) was a Danish nobleman known primarily for his work as an astronomer and an astrologer (the two were highly related in his day), as well as an alchemist. He was granted an estate on the island of Hven and the funding to build the Uraniborg, an early research institute, where he built large astronomical instruments and took many careful measurements. As an astronomer, Tycho worked to combine what he saw as the geometrical benefits of the Copernican system with the philosophical benefits of the Ptolemaic system into his own model of the universe, the Tychonian system. His best known assistant was Johannes Kepler, who would later use Tycho's astronomical information to develop his own theories of astronomy.

Death of his father

His foster father, uncle Jørgen Brahe, had already died in 1565 of pneumonia after rescuing Frederick II of Denmark from drowning. In April 1567, Tycho returned home from his travels, where his father wanted him to take up law, but was allowed to make trips to Rostock, then on to Augsburg, where he built a great quadrant, Basel, and Freiburg. He was informed about his father's illness at the end of 1570, so he returned to Knudstrup, where his father died in May 1571. Soon after, his other uncle Steen Bille helped him build an observatory and alchemical laboratory at Herrevad Abbey.

Related Topics:
Frederick II of Denmark - Knudstrup

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