Tycho Brahe, the 16th century Danish astronomer, alchemist, astrologist, and scientist (1546-1601) was a force to be reckoned with – the true epitome of the brilliant, mad scientist. In the backdrop of his innumerable contributions to science and astronomy, particularly the lunar theory, Tycho lived a bizarre life. Brought up by an uncle who kidnapped him, Tycho was an alcoholic who never shied away from an argument, losing his nose in a duel as a young man! Everything about this man seems larger than life, who fittingly emerged from the bubbling cauldron of the Renaissance in Western Europe.

His death too remains one of history’s great mysteries, with his body being exhumed twice. Tycho and his family had been attending a banquet in Prague in 1601. Sitting at a massive table, he ate and drank heartily, but could not leave the table as it was considered impolite to leave before the meal was over. He passed an untimely death due to either a bladder or kidney bursting, with an excess of urea in his blood, suffering for eleven days before succumbing to his fate.

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Until a decade ago, there were persistent claims that he had been poisoned by  mercury, due to the presence of the toxin in his mustache hairs. It was only when his body was exhumed in 2010 that this popular theory was dismissed. It is said that Brahe dictated his own  epitaph as “a man who lived like a sage and died like a fool”. Recent investigative work by archaeologists found that Tycho perhaps died from a fatal combination of obesity, diabetes, and  alcoholism – something still fairly common in today.

Read more: Ancient Origins