Essay, Research Paper: Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571 in Weil der Stadt, Germany. Kepler's grandfather, at one time, was Mayor of Weil, and was supposedly from a noble background. However, his father was a hired mercenary who avoided the gallows. Kepler's mother, Katherine, who was accused of Devil worship, barely escaped from being burned on the stake. In his child years, Kepler was a weak child with constant physical problems.
From this fascinating start, Johannes Kepler began his fascinating journey as a pioneer in astronomy. After he graduated the Faculty of Arts at the University of Tuebingen at the age of twenty, he left the University to become a professor of astronomy. It was at Tuebingen where Kepler first learned and became an adherent of the heliocentric theory of planetary motion, first developed by the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. While teaching astronomy, Kepler learned many useful things about the size of orbits. Unfortunately, Kepler fell for a false assumption: the orbits of planets were circular. Despite the fact that his calculations did not match planetary data, Kepler presumed that Copernicus's data was an error. Kepler stayed teaching at the University of Graz until 1600, when he was forced to leave due to his Lutheran faith.
Kepler traveled to the observatory of the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, and became his assistant. By all accounts, their relationship was stained. The two continuously fought over their results in data, and usually failed to resolve their academic and personal differences. Eventually, they learned that they needed each other, and settled the disputes. Brahe died in 1601 and Kepler assumed his position as imperial mathematicus. Kepler's primary motivation was the attempt to calculate the orbit of mars. One off shot in his work was the formulation of the concepts that were eventually known as the first two of Kepler's Laws. In 1612, Kepler became provincial mathematician to Linz, in upper Austria. In the next 12 years of Kepler's life, he published a book naming all the discoveries in his life. However, his personal life was far less successful. He was excommunicated from the church, and his mother was places on trial for being a witch. Despite those tribulations, Kepler kept living his life, until he died on November 15, 1630.
Kepler, to this day, remains one of the greatest figures in astronomy. However, his studies reached further than just astronomy. He is often called the founder of modern optics. Furthermore, he explained the principles of the telescope, and formed the basis of integral calculus. First to suggest the sun rotates about its axis, first to use stellar parallax, and first to explain that the tides are caused by the moon. Most commonly, the first to derive the birth year of Jesus Christ, that is now universally accepted. Johannes Kepler sets a hero for some and a mentor for others, but most importantly he changed the way we view history today.