The case of kepler is the classic instance.
"The Approach to Philosophy"
Ralph Barton Perry
Mehrstetten, 12 Dec 1812. He wrote on kepler and Astronomy, '71, and Philosophy and Natural Science, '74, dedicated to the memory of D. F. Strauss.
"A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers of All Ages and Nations"
Joseph Mazzini Wheeler
Consequently, his observations were superseded by the improved ones of the centuries following, and their celebrity and importance are principally due to their having afforded kepler the means of discovering his celebrated laws of planetary motion.
"The Story of the Heavens"
Robert Stawell Ball