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.

Tycho's death

Tycho died on October 24 1601, several days after straining his bladder during a banquet. It has been said that to leave the banquet before it concluded, would be the height of bad manners and so he remained. His weakened state allowed an infection to invade his body and lead ultimately to his death. He was succeeded as Imperial Mathematicus by Kepler, two days later.

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October 24 - 1601

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However, recent investigations have suggested that Tycho did not die from urinary problems but most likely from mercury poisoning: toxic levels of it have been found in his hair and hair-roots. Tycho may have poisoned himself unintentionally by imbibing some mercury-containing medicine.{{fn|3}} Some have even speculated that Tycho may have been murdered, though there is no solid evidence for this.

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Tycho Brahe's body is currently interred in a tomb in the Church of Our Lady of Tyn on Old Town Square near Prague Astronomical Clock in Prague.

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