Johannes Kepler was the first astronomer to come of age as a Copernican. His reasons were his own, were always his own; and through his characteristic way of thinking, about astronomy, about philosophy, about theology, and through his tenacity in overcoming technical difficulties never before seen in any science, he led astronomy in a direction stranger and more radical than any contemporary could imagine. He was born in Weil der Stadt, a small free imperial city in the Duchy of Württemberg about 30 km west of its capital Stuttgart, and his family was of the Lutheran minority in the mostly Catholic city. His father Heinrich (b. 1547) was a coarse, ill-tempered itinerant soldier, who failed in any number of trades, was frequently abroad, and in 1588, deserted his family entirely for another military expedition; he was never heard from again and is presumed to have died. His mother, Katharina Guldenmann (1547–1622), whom he described as small, lean, dark, sharp-tongued, quarrelsome, and of a malicious disposition (mali animi), was later in life accused of witchcraft, a charge that put her son through much trouble to contest. Kepler computed horoscopes for his father (including revolutions of years from 1588 to 1592), his mother, and many other members of his extended family—grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sister, wives, and children—some with interpretations, not usually complimentary or favorable. His own horoscope, with an analysis of his character written in 1597 (KGW 19.328–37), shows that he was born in 1571 on the Feast of John, Apostle, and Evangelist, Thursday 27 December at 1:30 or, as he came to regard as correct, 2:30 PM. The horoscope is given in the Appendix. He believed he was conceived on 16 May at 16:37 h—that is, 17 May 4:37 AM—for which he computed a horoscope (KGW 21,2.2.23), following his parents’ marriage on 15 May, since an earlier miscarriage by his mother and his own weakness at birth removed suspicion of an earlier impregnation. Thus, he was born after 32 weeks, 224 days 10 h—2:30 PM − 4:30 AM = 10 h—a 7-month child, weak and premature, as predicted by the horoscope of his conception. He was treated badly, at times abandoned by his parents to the care, or neglect, of his grandparents on his father’s side, nearly died of smallpox at the age of 4, was often in poor health, and remained small of stature. That one of genius and integrity could come from such a family and survive such an upbringing is all but beyond comprehension. Max Caspar, in his classic biography of Kepler ([1959] 1993), writes that he inherited his character from the maternal side, as is not seldom the case with men of genius; his mother, although unlettered, showed curiosity and intelligence, it appears less so his father. Two memories of childhood he always carried with him and regarded as significant of his future were of when his mother showed him the great comet in 1577 and his father showed him the total lunar eclipse of 31 January, 1580, so perhaps his father had some redeeming features after all. Still, that Kepler’s character and intellect were formed on his own, and against many obstacles, cannot be doubted.