Jonathan Dee ( his real name) was born in London in a Welsh family. The last name Dee cames from the Welsh word "du", meaning "black". He graduated from St. John's College, Cambridge when he was eighteen. He was a founding fellow of Trinity College. He lectured for a little while at Cambridge. Then he left England to study in continental Europe and lecture in Paris and Louvain. He returned to England in the 1540s.