Later Years
Cardano's eldest and favorite son was executed in 1560 after he confessed to having poisoned his cuckolding wife. His other son was a gambler, who stole money from him. He allegedly cropped the ears of one of his sons. Cardano himself was accused of heresy in 1570 because he had computed and published the horoscope of Jesus in 1554. Apparently, his own son contributed to the prosecution, bribed by Tartaglia. He was arrested, had to spend several months in prison and was forced to abjure his professorship. He moved to Rome, received a lifetime annuity from Pope Gregory XIII (after first having been rejected by Pope Pius V) and finished his autobiography. It appears that he was still practicing medicine up to his death in 1576. The date of his death is disputed, most probably he was still alive in 1577.
Read more about this topic: Gerolamo Cardano
Famous quotes containing the word years:
“Strange that the mind will forget so much of what only this moment has passed, and yet hold clear and bright the memory of what happened years ago with men and women long since dead.”
—Philip Dunne (1908–1992)
“Inside, the others sat at their carpentry, varnishing, sorting, gluing, had still two years, five years to do. He was standing at the carstop.
The punishment begins.”
—Alfred Döblin (1878–1957)