Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in Torun. Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe which placed the sun, rather than the earth, at the center. Copernicus's most important achievement was his combination of mathematics and physics, adapting physics to fit his view of astronomical truth, with a good bit of cosmology thrown in for good measure.