Johannes Kepler

1571 – 1630 · died at about 59^[1][2]

Science & Invention

Fun Facts About Johannes Kepler

• Johannes Kepler wrote Somnium, a tale of a trip to the Moon sometimes called the first work of science fiction. A distorted version of the story may have helped spark a witchcraft trial against his mother.^[1]
• Kepler's mother Katharina, a healer and herbalist, was accused of witchcraft and held in prison from 1620 to 1621 before she was absolved and released.^[1]
• As a New Year's gift for a patron, Kepler wrote the first description of the hexagonal symmetry of snowflakes. In it he posed the Kepler conjecture on packing spheres.^[1]
• After his first wife died, Kepler considered 11 different matches over two years, a decision process later formalized as the marriage problem.^[1]
• Buying wine in 1613, Kepler watched how a barrel's volume was measured. His work on wine barrels was a step toward calculus, and Simpson's rule is called Kepler's barrel rule in German.^[1]
• As imperial mathematician, Kepler's main duty was to give astrological advice to Emperor Rudolf II, although he took a dim view of astrologers who tried to predict specific events.^[1]
• Johannes Kepler was alive at the same time as Molière — their lives overlapped for 8 years (1622–1630).^[1][2][3][4]
• Johannes Kepler shares a birthday with Louis Pasteur: both were born on December 27.^[1][2][5][6]

Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and music theorist. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of planetary motion, and his books Astronomia nova, Harmonice Mundi, and Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae. The variety and impact of his work made Kepler one of the founders and fathers of modern astronomy, the scientific method, natural science, and modern science. He has been described as the "father of science fiction" for his novel Somnium.^[1]

Contemporaries

Galileo Galilei

59 yr overlap

Francis Bacon

55 yr overlap

Peter Paul Rubens

53 yr overlap

Tokugawa Ieyasu

45 yr overlap

Miguel de Cervantes

45 yr overlap

William Shakespeare

45 yr overlap

Caravaggio

39 yr overlap

Akbar the Great

34 yr overlap

René Descartes

34 yr overlap

Elizabeth I

32 yr overlap

Oliver Cromwell

31 yr overlap

Diego Velázquez

31 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Johannes Kepler

When was Johannes Kepler born?

Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, and died on November 15, 1630.

How old was Johannes Kepler at death?

Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, and died on November 15, 1630, at age 58.

What was Johannes Kepler known for?

Johannes Kepler was known for: Laws of planetary motion. Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and music theorist. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of planetary motion, and his books Astronomia nova, Harmonice Mundi, and Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae. The variety and impact of his work made Kepler one of the founders and fathers of modern astronomy, the scientific method, natural science, and modern science. He has been described as the "father of science fiction" for his novel Somnium.

Who was alive at the same time as Johannes Kepler?

Johannes Kepler's closest contemporary was Galileo Galilei. Their lives overlapped for 59 years.