The Book Nobody Read, Copernicus' De Revolutionibus

January 18, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Mānoa Campus, Institute for Astronomy Auditorium, Woodlawn Drive

Learn how library collections all over the world contributed to a major investigation in which Owen Gingerich, renowned Harvard astronomer and historian, proved that Copernicus' De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, popularly known as "the book that nobody read," was indeed carefully read by the contemporary scientific community. Gingerich's unusual quest to examine all existing copies of the Polish astronomer's great opus led the Harvard professor into a thicket of adventures ranging from Federal District Court in Washington to episodes behind the iron curtain. In the process he became the international expert on the publishing history and gradual acceptance of the heliocentric system, the initial powerful concept that has shaped our modern understanding of the cosmos.

Book signing and refreshments will follow talk.


Ticket Information
Free and open to the public

Event Sponsor
Institute for Astronomy, UH Manoa Libraries, Hawaiian-Pacific Special Libraries Association Chapter

More Information
Kathleen Robertson, 956-8907, roberts@ifa.hawaii.edu

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