Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at its center, known as heliocentrism. Born on February 19, 1473, in Torun, Poland, he pursued studies at the University of Krakow and later in Italy, where he deepened his knowledge in mathematics and astronomy. His seminal work, "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium," published in 1543, challenged the long-standing geocentric model and laid the foundation for modern astronomy.