Nicolaus Copernicus was born in the city of Torun, northern Poland on February 19, 1473.

Nicolaus was born into a rich family. He was named after his father, Mikolaj Kopernik.

His father was a merchant.

His mother, Barbara Watzenrode, also came from a rich family.

Nicolaus was the youngest of their four children. He´s got 2 sisters and one brother.

When Nicolaus was 10 years old, his father died. 

Nicolaus’ uncle, Lucas Watzenrode, became his guardian

Copernicus studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Krakow.

Copernicus studied law and medicine at the University of Bologna.

He also studied law and medicine in Padua and Ferrara in Italy.

The heliocentric model is Copernicus’ theory that places the SUN as the center of the universe, and the planets orbits around it.

He wrote books about universe.

From 1616 to 1835, his work was banned by the Catholic Church.