A great Philosopher and Astronomer. He first considered the sun-centric Solar System rather than a previously emphasized earth-centric Solar System.br The publication of Copernicus' book De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), just before his death in 1543, was a major event in the history of science, triggering the Copernican Revolution and making a pioneering contribution to the Scientific Revolution.