1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day. 4 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're looking at the story 5 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: of a dueling scientist and the enduring twin mysteries surrounding 6 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: the circumstances of his untimely death and the composition of 7 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: his metal nose. The day was December twenty ninth, fifteen 8 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: sixty six. Eccentric astronomer Tycho Brahe lost a large chunk 9 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: of his nose in a sword fight with his third cousin. 10 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: The exact nature of their dispute is unknown, but most 11 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: contemporary accounts suggest it was somehow related to academic prowess, 12 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: or in other words, they had a sword fight over 13 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: who was the better mathematician. Tycho Brahe or Tiko bra 14 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: as it's pronounced in Danish, was born in Denmark on 15 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: December fourteenth, fifteen forty six. His parents were members of 16 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: the aristocracy, and he was raised by his wealthy uncle. 17 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:29,479 Speaker 1: While attending universities in Copenhagen and Leipzig. Although he initially 18 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: studied to become a lawyer, Brahe became fascinated with astronomy 19 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:38,639 Speaker 1: in fifteen sixty after witnessing a solar eclipse. By that point, 20 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: he had already demonstrated an aptitude for mathematics and began 21 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: to stay up late into the night to record astronomical observations. 22 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: Not long after, Brahi officially changed his course of study 23 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: and embarked on a tour of European universities at age sixteen. 24 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: His travels took him to Rostock, Germany, in the fall 25 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: of fifteen teen sixty six, where he continued his studies 26 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 1: alongside his fellow student and cousin, matter Up Parsburg. One 27 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: day in early December, Brahi and his cousin got into 28 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: a heated argument, most likely over a disagreement about a 29 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: mathematical formula. The other partygoers were able to talk the 30 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: young men down, but two weeks later they were at 31 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: it again, and this time things took a violent turn. 32 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: On December twenty ninth, after another evening of heavy drinking, 33 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: Brahi and Parsburg resumed their argument. Both men were carrying 34 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: swords at their hips, as was the custom of the era, 35 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: so when their quarrel reached its peak intensity, they inevitably 36 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: turned to their ubiquitous blades. German theologian Jacob Stalterfott wrote 37 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: a detailed account of the incident, explaining that Brahi unexpectedly 38 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: got into an argument with one of the table companions, 39 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: and soon they were so bought up speaking in the 40 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: Danish language, that they demanded sword play of each other, 41 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,839 Speaker 1: stood up forthwith and went out. When the others came 42 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: out into the churchyard, they were in full brawl. The 43 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: duel ended with twenty year old Tycho Brahi losing a 44 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: significant portion of his nose, though the full extent of 45 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: his injury is unclear. Several historians claim he lost the 46 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: majority of his nose, but contemporary depictions of Brahi show 47 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: him wearing a prosthesis covering only the bridge of the nose. 48 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: In either case, it wasn't a very appealing disfigurement. While 49 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: a small dueling scar on the cheek or forehead was 50 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: considered a mark of bravery among the nobility, having half 51 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: your nose sliced off was a different story. Brahi tried 52 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: to disguise the injury as best he could by wearing 53 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: a fake nose for the rest of his life. Some 54 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: sources claim the prosthesis was made of pure gold, both 55 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: to resist corrosion and to reinforce his standing as a nobleman. 56 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: Tycho's early biographer, however, described the nose as an alloy 57 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: of gold and silver, which had been mixed in such 58 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: a way as to appear flesh like in color. That said, 59 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,280 Speaker 1: in paintings from the era, the false nose blends in 60 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: almost perfectly with the surrounding skin, a detail that suggests 61 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: the nose was painted, leaving the base material uncertain. Whatever 62 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: the true composition of Brahi's new nose is universally accepted 63 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: that he kept a small jar of putty with him 64 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: at all times to keep the prosthetic from falling off. 65 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: The astronomer seemed to embrace the eccentricity that came from 66 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: having a metal nose, and his personal life became increasingly 67 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,919 Speaker 1: bizarre from then on. After completing his studies, he moved 68 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: to an island with a castle and an observatory, all 69 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 1: of which was financed by the King of Denmark. Brahi 70 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: also hired a dwarf jester named Jep whom he believed 71 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,239 Speaker 1: to be psychic, and had him sit under the dining 72 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: room table during all of his meals. Another peculiar denizen 73 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: of Castle, Brahi was the astronomer's beer swilling pet elk. 74 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: One night, the elk had a little too much to 75 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: drink and fell down the stairs to its death, a 76 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 1: tragedy that Jepp really should have seen coming. Despite his 77 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: flamboyant lifestyle, Brahi made considerable contributions to the field of astronomy. 78 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,280 Speaker 1: Armed with the most precise instruments of his day, he 79 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: was able to track the movements of planets and stars 80 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: with remarkable accuracy. His observations led to the discovery of 81 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: the super nova in fifteen seventy two, as well as 82 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: to an illuminating series of essays on the movement of comets. 83 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: Brahi's career continued on an upswing until the death of 84 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: his royal patron in fifteen eighty eight. The Danish king's 85 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: son and successor, Christian the Fourth, chose not to continue 86 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 1: funding Brahi's research, and as a result, the astronomer moved 87 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: to Prague in search of a new patron. He found 88 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: one in Rudolph the Second, the Holy Roman Emperor and 89 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 1: a devotee of the arts and sciences. Brahi spent the 90 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: next several years in Prague preparing his decades of celestial 91 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:21,279 Speaker 1: observations for publication. His overarching goal was to prove a 92 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: new astronomical model of the Solar System, one in which 93 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: all the planets except Earth revolve around the Sun. His 94 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: theory was one planet shy of the correct heliocentric model, 95 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: but compared to the accepted geocentric model of his day, 96 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,719 Speaker 1: it was certainly a step in the right direction. Brahi 97 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: sought help with his calculations from Johannes Kepler, a twenty 98 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: eight year old German astronomer with his own strange conception 99 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: of the universe. During their time together, Brahi introduced Kepler 100 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: to the Emperor and even pushed for him to be 101 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: made the Imperial Mathematician. However, before Kepler's appointment could be 102 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: he finalized, Brahi suddenly fell ill after attending a royal 103 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: banquet in Prague and died a short time later at 104 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: the age of fifty four. The cause of the astronomer's 105 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,119 Speaker 1: death has been debated for centuries. We know Brahi drank 106 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: excessively at the banquet that night, but due to societal custom, 107 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: it's likely he refused to excuse himself to use the 108 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: bathroom before his host did. For that reason, most theories 109 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: concerning his death focused on his urinary tract, a kidney infection, 110 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: a ruptured bladder, or an enlarged prostate gland. However, another 111 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: option would present itself some three hundred years later, when 112 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: Brahi's corpse was exhumed in Prague by a team of scientists. 113 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: There was no sign of his famous nose. He was 114 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: either buried without it or with a wax one that 115 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: had long since decomposed. But far more interesting than the 116 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: missing nose were the tests undertaken on Brahi's bones and 117 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: beard hairs. They revealed toxic level of mercury, sparking rumors 118 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 1: that the astronomer had been poisoned, possibly by his own 119 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: jealous protegee, Johannes Kepler. The rumors of foul play ran 120 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: rampant throughout the twentieth century, but Kepler's name was finally 121 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: cleared in twenty ten, when Brahi's body was exhumed for 122 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: a second time. A new batch of tests showed that 123 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: the mercury concentrations in his body weren't actually high enough 124 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: to have killed him. In fact, the trace amounts found 125 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: in his body had likely been absorbed through the course 126 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: of his scientific experiments, and not from multiple rounds of 127 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: poisoning as had previously been assumed. The findings meant that 128 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 1: Brahi's true cause of death was once again inconclusive, but 129 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: the researchers were able to suss out a few more 130 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: details about the astronomer's nose. They found greenish stains around 131 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:56,559 Speaker 1: Brahi's nasal cavity that contained trace amounts of copper and zinc. 132 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,680 Speaker 1: The presence of those metals indicates that his prosthetic knows 133 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: wasn't made of silver or gold, but of brass. So hey, 134 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: at least that's one mystery solved. I'm Gabe Luesier and 135 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 136 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. You can learn even more about 137 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,719 Speaker 1: history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 138 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,319 Speaker 1: TDI HC Show. You can also rate or review the 139 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: show on Apple Podcasts, or you can get in touch 140 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,959 Speaker 1: directly by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 141 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: Thanks as always to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 142 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 143 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:46,080 Speaker 1: here again soon for another day in History class.