Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 - November 15, 1630), a key figure in the scientific revolution, was a German Lutheran mathematician, astrologer, and astronomer.

Kepler lived in an era when there was no clear distinction between astronomy and astrology, while there was a strong division between astronomy/astrology (a branch of mathematics within the liberal arts) and physics (a branch of the more prestigious discipline of philosophy).

He also incorporated religious arguments and reasoning into his work, such that the basis for many of his most important contributions was essentially theological.

He is best known for his laws of planetary motion, based on his Astronomia nova, Harmonice Mundi and the textbook Epitome of Copernican Astronomy.

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