Database: Giordano Bruno

Italy // 1548-1600
Bruno gained widespread fame and notoriety due to his remarkable memory retention and understanding of the mnemonic system. He soon gained favor with powerful European individuals such as Henry III of France and Pope Pius V.
Bruno's great interest in cosmology saw him building further upon Nicolaus Copernicus' model of the solar system. Bruno suggested that the Sun was simply one of an infinite amount of stars surrounded by endless planets inhabited by intelligent extraterrestrial beings.
At the recommendation of Henry III, Bruno traveled to England in 1593, meeting with members of John Dee's Hermetic order. It remains unknown if Bruno ever met Dee or what was accomplished at these meetings. Although Bruno lectured at the University of Oxford for a time, the other educators were not fond of his controversial theories, and he was denied a permanent position.
Later that year, Bruno was arrested and sent to Rome. For seven years, most of which he spent in the Castel Sant'Angelo, Bruno was imprisoned and tried for heresy by the Roman Inquisition. Refusing to give up his beliefs, Bruno was sentenced to death and burned at the stake on 17 February 1600.
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