A biography of astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)

Nobilus Danus
   Tyge (Latinized as Tycho) Brahe was born on December 14, 1546 at Knutstorps castle in Skåne county, Denmark (now part of Sweden). He was the first son of Otto Brahe and Beatte Bille, both from noble Danish families with members in the Rigsraad.(5) Hence his common epithet “nobilis Danus: The Noble Dane” applies literally.(15) Otto made a deal with his more educated brother, Jörgen (Joergen), that if the child was born a boy, he could adopt and raise him. However, when Tycho was, indeed born a boy, the father changed his mind and went back on his word.(7) Later, when Otto and Beatte had another child, Jörgen kidnapped Tycho. Hotheaded Otto threatened to kill his brother, but decided to let him have the child, since Tycho stood to inherit his uncle’s large estate.
   At age seven, Tycho began studying Latin. His uncle insisted that the study would help him to become a lawyer or diplomat, typical occupations for members of nobility. His parents objected, but the uncle prevailed. In 1559, when he was thirteen, Brahe entered the University of Copenhagen to continue his law and philosophy studies.
   It was while in Copenhagen that Tycho was first intrigued by astronomy. He witnessed a partial eclipse of the sun and, moreover, it had been predicted beforehand. The eclipse occurred August 21, 1560, on schedule, striking him as “something divine that men should know the motions of the stars so accurately that they were able a long time beforehand to predict their places and relative positions.”(7,18) With all the turmoil going on in his own life, it comes as no surprise that Brahe found the predictability of the stars appealing.

Alfonsine tables
   The resources of his noble family proved advantageous, allowing little Tycho to buy himself a copy of Almagest, a book—written in Latin—by the infamous Alexandrian astronomer, mathematician, and geographer, Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus). He also acquired some astronomical tables, which were supposed to predict the exact location of a planet at any given time. Ptolemy made such astronomical tables that were eventually revised by Spanish astronomers under rule of Alfonso X of Castile in 1252.(7) Hence, they became known as the Alfonsine tables. Young Tycho also purchased some more recent ones based on Copernicus’ relatively new theory.
   When he was sixteen, Tycho was sent by his uncle to the University of Leipzig, Germany, to continue his studies. Twenty-year-old Anders Vedel (who later became famous as a Danish historian) tutored him in his study of law. But when the tutor wasn’t around, Tycho snuck away and bought more astronomy books and measuring instruments. With these, he stayed up late at night to observe the stars. On August 17, 1563, he observed a unique event—Jupiter and Saturn passed by each other. Brahe immediately realized that the Copernicus tables were off by several days and the Alfonsine tables were off by a month for their predictions of the event. He was determined that better tables could be constructed by making more accurate observations of celestial objects over a long period of time. It was then that he knew that he wanted to spend his life accomplishing that task. He began by building his first astronomical instrument, a Jacob Stave.(9) Simultaneously, Vedel gave up tutoring law to the “hopeless” boy, but the two remained friends for life.

Troubles
   In 1565 Tycho’s uncle Jörgen died unexpectedly. King Frederik II had fallen into the moat of his castle after returning from a battle with Sweden. The uncle, a popular but sometimes cruel, warship sailor was on the scene to rescue the king from drowning. Unfortunately, the cold water gave Jörgen pneumonia that caused his death.
   Tycho returned to Denmark only to be greeted by a cold shoulder from his family. They felt that his stargazing hobby was ruining his education of law (and they were right). Once again, he left his unfriendly family for Germany. Brahe studied at the University of Wittenberg, but left to avoid a plague.(5) Later that year, he attended the University of Rostock.(6) He persuaded some astronomers in Augsburg that more accurate astronomical observations were needed. They made large instruments to record the locations of stars, but it would be a few decades until telescopes were available. One wooden quadrant took twenty men to put together, and would have been part of a circle 38 feet across. It was very precise, though, graduated to the minute (sixtieths of a degree). This began Tycho’s legacy of accurate observations.
   During this stay in Rostock was an incident when Brahe expressed the short temper that he inherited from his father. Tycho argued with another student and nobleman, Manderup Parsberg, over who was the better mathematician. The two engaged in a duel with rapiers. The tip of Tycho’s nose was cut off, and from then on he wore a silver and gold alloy in the vacated space.(7) He was known to carry a snuffbox of “ointment or glutinous composition” which was rubbed on his nose to keep the tip in place.
Tycho went home to recover from his dueling injury, but returned to Rostock in 1568.(5) But, a few months later he left after getting fined for the duel. He moved to the University of Basel for only a few months. However, he liked the place and intended to move there eventually.
   In 1570, when Tycho was twenty-six, he went back to Denmark again. He lived with his parents for a short while, then moved in with his maternal uncle, Steen Bille. He was Tycho’s only relative who liked the star gazing ideas. Steen was an entrepreneur who built the first paper mill and glassworks in Denmark. Tycho occupied himself with chemistry for a while, with the help of Steen. Meanwhile, he met Kirsten Jörgensdatter, a commoner and daughter of the priest in Kågeröd. They were never officially married, but together they had five daughters and three sons. The children were considered illegitimate under Danish custom, since his wife was a peasant.