The first person to propose a heliocentric model of the universe was the ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician Aristarchus of Samos. Aristarchus lived from approximately 310 BCE to 230 BCE. In the 3rd century BCE, he formulated the idea that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, with the Earth rotating on its own axis. This heliocentric model was described in his work titled "On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon." However, his heliocentric theory did not gain widespread acceptance during his time, and it was later developed further by astronomers like Nicolaus Copernicus in the 16th century.