WHAT WAS KEPLER'S CHILDHOOD LIKE?
His family circumstances were difficult. His father deserted the family when Kepler was five years old. Kepler himself had smallpox as a child and suffered from poor eyesight throughout his life as a result. At 13, he attended the monastic school in Adelberg, after which he graduated to Maulbronn Monastery. It was the new Württemberg school system that enabled his access to such higher education. He successfully completed his three-year education here, despite his poor health.
