Tycho Brahe: I Lost My Nose in a Math Duel — Then Wore Brass

Tycho Brahe turns a 1566 quarrel with his third cousin, Manderup Parsberg, into a story about a very visible mathematical footnote. The duel damaged Brahe’s nose; he wore a prosthesis for the rest of his life, and later analysis of his remains pointed to brass. 1

The surviving record is messier than the punchline. A medical history of Brahe’s prosthesis notes that the exact quarrel and the extent of the injury are uncertain, while describing the small pot of adhesive traditionally associated with keeping the replacement in place. 2