A great part of history has been devoid of any explicit prohibition on plagiarism and theft of intellectual works. The act of claiming the work of others as one’s own wasn’t considered a serious infraction. It was more for economic gains rather than in creative light. In the era from the Roman age to that of the 17th century, knowledge was prized over originality and many great works were copied and stolen.
The first reported case of plagiarism and theft was around 80 AD by the Roman poet Martial. Even the famous works of Shakespeare and Leonardo Da Vinci had many copied plots and passages. That is to say that the west has a history of stealing the works of others and getting them published under their name. However, the most unnerving tale in the field of science and astronomy is that of Johannes Kepler.
Johannes Kepler is one of the most celebrated German mathematicians and astronomers. He holds a remarkable accolade for discovering that the earth and other planets travel around the sun in elliptical orbits. He gave three fundamental laws of planetary motion which were not known to the western civilization. The revelations were based on the works of Copernicus and Tycho.
However, Johannes Kepler is accused of stealing the works of Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Further, he is also accused of the murder of his teacher Tycho whom he replaced for the position of Royal Mathematician at the court-in-exile of the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, in Prague.
Johannes Kepler: Early Life
On December 27, 1571, Johannes Kepler was born in Weil der Stadt, Württemberg, in the Holy Roman Empire of Germany. He came from a humble background and was expected to go into the clergy. But, owing to his exceptional intellectual grace, he was given a scholarship to the University of Tübingen to pursue a career in the Lutheran ministry. He became a mathematics teacher in Graz, Austria.
It was here he got acquainted with the ideas of ‘Mysterium Cosmographicu’ that developed his interest in astronomy. However, his confidence in the Copernican concept of a heliocentric universe proved disastrous for him as it was contrary to the principles advocated by the Church of the time. At the same time, war broke out in the region. With the commencement of the 30 Years’ War, Kepler and his wife were forced out of Graz in 1596 due to their Protestant beliefs. Kepler then shifted to Prague to work with the renowned Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe.
Johannes Kepler: The thief and a murderer!
Tycho, whom Kepler joined after being ousted from Graz was a scientist who was into astronomy and worked by direct observations. On the contrary, Kepler was a mathematician who was good at calculations and observations of value. Owing to this, Tycho had to rely on his calculations to measuring the positions of objects in the sky.
Without someone like Johannes Kepler, Tycho’s observations wouldn’t have found expression in the realm of the scientific domain. On the contrary, Kepler’s understanding of how planets eclipsed in their orbit would have never materialized without the observations of Tycho. Thereby, would have reduced the work of Kepler to be nothing more than mere speculation and mysticism.
During Kepler’s outing to Prague, as Tycho’s assistant, the two fought frequently as Tycho used to refuse to share his meticulous observations with Kepler. It was these very observations that Johannes Kepler desperately needed for his ongoing quest to establish the true orbital motions of the planets.
The persistent conflict between the two regarding sharing of data was the prominent deterrence on the way of Johannes Kepler as he required observational data to test his ideas and theories. Since he wasn’t that well-versed in the observation of the planets, the only option for him was to steal it from his mentor, Tycho.
In addition to this, Kepler also saw Tycho as a threat to his growth prospects. Tycho, who was the Royal Mathematician, was a much more accomplished mathematician and scientist in comparison to Kepler. Owing to these reasons he hatched a conspiracy to murder Tycho and steal his observations to proceed with his work.
Episode of Tycho’s Death
The famous Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe was a long-time foodie and connoisseur of wine. At a dinner given by a local Baron, Tycho consumed great quantities of wine along with Johannes Kepler. Later that night he fell ill and later succumbed to death. The cause of death was ascertained at the time his death was found to be a kidney stone and his overdrinking habits.
However, to ascertain the actual cause of death, on November 10, 2010, the corporal remains of Tycho Brahe were once again exhumed. The remains were then transported from Tyne Church to Prague to be examined by an international team of Danish and Czech archaeologists, doctors, chemists and medical anthropologists.
The researchers resorted to DNA testing and other modern medical diagnostic tools to ascertain as much as possible about Brahe’s medical history, as well as his cause of death. In a previous test conducted during 1996, the samples of hairs taken from Brahe’s body were studied for the first time since it was exhumed, back in 1901. Those tests indicated high levels of mercury, and that in the 24 hours before Brahe died, he had ingested the same.
The exhumation produced new questions about Tycho Brahe’s death – including the possibility of murder. The bone of the thigh was examined which indicated an excessive quantity of mercury and other heavy metals, administered in the body at the time of death. The recent findings indicate that Johannes Kepler who was the sole beneficiary from the death of Tycho would have administered poisonous substance in his drinks with the intent to murder him.
Also Read: CV Raman – the Man of Science who never gave up on Dharma
Kepler benefited from Tycho’s Death
To support the murder conspiracy, following Tycho’s death, Kepler was bestowed with the position of Royal Mathematician at the court-in-exile of the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, in Prague. In addition, he got access to the observational data that Tycho had collected over his lifetime.
It saved much time for Kepler and more significantly, the expertise which Tycho had was beyond Kepler’s reach. Kepler used the data to test his theories and propounded various theories on planetary motion. Thereby, earning Kepler the respect and accolades from people from all walks of life as well the international community of intellectuals.
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