Tycho Brahe: Sein Leben, Meynungen und Schriften

What it is

This is a 1798 German biography of Tycho Brahe written by Johann Theodor Benjamin Helfrecht, a schoolteacher in Hof. The book covers Brahe's life, opinions and writings, and originally included a portrait of Brahe and a diagram of his astronomical system. It is held by the Bavarian State Library in Munich.

Why it matters

Written about two centuries after Brahe's death, this biography shows how Brahe's reputation and ideas were still being studied and explained to readers in the late 18th century, including his famous model of the solar system known as the Tychonic system.

Why it matters

Look closer

• Why might a schoolteacher in the 1790s choose to write a biography of a 16th-century astronomer?
• What does the inclusion of a diagram of Brahe's astronomical system suggest about what the author thought was important?
• How might a biography written 200 years after someone's death differ from one written during their life?