Nicolaus Copernicus reportedly received a copy of the printed version of his theory, "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium," in 1543, the year it was published. He held a copy of this finished work on his deathbed in May 1543.

This book, which presented the heliocentric theory, was first printed in Nuremberg by Johannes Petreius in 1543. Copernicus had hesitated to publish it for many years but agreed to the printing just before his death.