Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571 in Weil der Stadt Wurttemberg, Germany. His father, Heinrich Kepler, was a mercenary and often traveled. His mother, Katharina Guldenmann, was an herbalist and a healer. Kepler’s grandfather, Sebald Kepler, had been the Lord Mayor of the town, which leads people to believe that his family once had riches. Despite this, no riches were ever passed down and it is said that the family’s riches had declined tremendously through the years. As a result, young Kepler grew up rather poor. His mother raised him and his two siblings alone because his father, as a mercenary, had to travel a lot. When Kepler was five his father left for a trip and never came back. It is said he died in the Dutch War of Independence…show more content… He caught smallpox at a very early age, which left him with crippled hands and limited vision.
At age six he, along with the rest of Europe, watched the Great Comet of 1577 zoom by. This guided Kepler’s curiosity in astronomy. And again at age nine, he observed the Lunar Eclipse of 1580, which fed his already curious astronomy mind. Although Kepler was curious about astronomy, his goal was to study religion and theology. It is believe that Johannes chose this for several reasons. Firstly, he chose religion because his family was very religious and so he too was raised being very religious. Another reason may have been because he was seen as a handicapped child. Many people knew he excelled in math, however his social class and disabilities with eyesight and hands made people skeptical of any real possible vocation for him. It is said that Kepler had his insecurities and thought that ministry was the best path he could take in life with the cards…show more content… Kepler stood behind the teachings of Maestlin and the Copernican system, however he was still interested in becoming a minister. When Johannes schooling was starting to come to an end, he was recommended for a position as an Astronomy and Mathematics professor. Kepler decided to take the job because he wanted to further his understandings in the astronomy world. He also needed the money and knew that jobs, such as this one, were not easy to come by. In 1594, at the young age of 23, he became a professor at the University of Graz. In 1596, while still teaching at Graz, he wrote his first major astronomical and Copernican-defending work called Mysterium Cosmographicum. In his work he explains that there are certain shapes and structures that reflect God’s geometrical plan for the structure of the universe. Kepler believed that the universe could be explained by calculations, however the plan of the universe was guided and made by God. In the Mysterium Cosmographicum, Johannes linked God and science, which had not been done in this extensive detail before. Although his publication was sure to get many critiques, Kepler began to send copies to other astronomers and patrons. Although not many responded to Kepler’s publication, it increased his popularity and