Johannes Kepler

A brief chronology, extracted from the Preface by I. Bernard Cohen, and the Introduction by Eric J. Aiton, in (Duncan, 1981). With additions from (Baumgardt, 1951) and (Koestler, 1960).

1571 Born, 17 December, in Weil der Stadt
1572 New star appears, first since 125 BCE
1589 University of Tuebingen, studied with Maestlin
1594 Became professor of mathematics at Graz, April
1595 Asks Maestlin for a job in Tuebingen
1595 Vision of his Solar System Model, 19 July
1596 Kepler petitions Tuebingen University with MS, 1 May
1596 Pub'd. Mysterium cosmographicum,
          including his Solar System Model
Full title: A Forerunner to Cosmographical Treatises, containing the Cosmic Mystery of the admirable proportions between the Heavenly Orbits and the true and proper reasons for their Numbers, Magnitudes, and Periodic Motions
1597 Mysterium cosmographicum appears in print
1597 Kepler sends Myst. cosmo. to Tycho, Galileo
1597 Galileo writes to Kepler, 4 August (letter #1)
1598 Lutherans ordered to leave Graz, school closed
1600 Left Graz for Prague, 1 January
1600 Gilbert pub'd On Magnets
1601 Tycho dies, Kepler becomes Imperial Mathematicus
1602 Discovered his Second Law
1604 Pub'd. Astronomiae pars optica
1606 Pub'd. De stella nova, mentions Gilbert
1607 Kepler observed Halley's comet, September
1608 Kepler hears that Bruno was burned in 1600
1608 Kepler begins Geometrical Kabbala
1609 Pub'd. Commentaries on Mars
1609 Pub'd. Astronomia nova,
          incl. his Second Law (equal areas)
          and later his First Law (elliptic orbits)
1610 Galileo pub'd Starry Messenger
1610 Kepler learns of Galileo's new moons, 15 March
1610 Kepler sees the four moons, 3 August
1610 Kepler writes to Galileo, 9 August
1610 Galileo replies to Kepler, 19 August (letter #2)
1611 Pub'd. Dioptrice
1612 Kepler moved to Linz
1613 Second marriage
1615 Pub'd Nova stereometria doliorum vinariorum
          anticipating the integral calculus of Newton
1615 Kepler's mother accused of witchcraft
1618 Pub'd. Epitome astronomiae Copernicae
1618 Transl. Ptolemy's Harmonica
1618 Completes Harmonice mundi, May 27
1619 Pub'd. Harmonice mundi
          incl. his Third Law (period-distance relation)
          and his Music of the Spheres
1619 Kepler received news that one of his books had been
          banned in Rome and Florence
1620 Kepler's mother imprisoned, tortured for witchcraft
1621 Pub'd. Mysterium cosmographicum, 2nd edn.
1627 Pub'd. Tabulae Rudolphinae
1629 Kepler complains of Fludd, Mersenne
1630 Left Sagan, looking for a new home, October
1630 Died, November 15
Rev'd 23 sep 2004 by ralph abraham