Brahe

Brahe, Tycho, astronomer, was born in 1546 at Knudstorp, in the county of Schonen, Sweden. He early exhibited a bent towards astronomical science, and though he was destined for the legal profession and sent to Leipsic to study for that purpose, he would yet, when his tutor had gone to bed, spend his nights in viewing the stars. At Rostock, in 1506, he lost part of his nose in a duel with a Danish nobleman, himself making good the defect with gold, silver, and wax. In 1672 he discovered a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia, and in the following year married a peasant girl much against the wishes of his relatives. So violent were the quarrels that ensued on this point, that the king was obliged to interfere. In 1580 he built an observatory on the island of Huen in the Sound, the site and money being provided by Frederic II., and here he pursued the observations that resulted in the planetary system associated with his name. After King Frederic's death the petty jealousy of the nobles obliged him to remove in 1597 to Germany, where he enjoyed the patronage of Rudolph II., who provided him with a residence and a pension, which, however, he did not live to enjoy for long. He died at Prague in 1601. At one time Kepler was his assistant and owed much to Brahe's influence.