John Dee

About

Known best as a sixteenth-century Hermetic philosopher, he also studied alchemy, the occult, astronomy, and mathematics. In addition, he worked as a personal astrological consultant to Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Before Fame

He studied at St. John's College, Cambridge and later joined a London trade association called the Worshipful Company of Mercers.

Trivia

In 1555, he was charged with treason (and later exonerated of the charge) for an astrological prediction he made about the reign of Queen Mary.

Family Life

His second marriage, to the much-younger Jane Fromand, produced eight children. He was the only child of Jane Dee and Welsh merchant Rowland Dee.

Associated With

He and sixteenth-century astronomer Tycho Brahe were contemporaries and friends.