Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a Polish astronomer. His major contribution to the field was De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, in which he laid out his proof that the Earth and other planets revolved around the Sun.

During Copernicus's life, his findings intrigued many in the Catholic Church hierarchy, but in the decades after his death the Church became less open to the theory. By 1597, the English Inquisition was actively suppressing heliocentrism in England, as were similar bodies in other Catholic countries.