Richard Rogers was born in Florence (Tuscany) in 1933 into an Anglo-Italian family. His father, William Nino Rogers (1906–1993), was the cousin of Italian architect Ernesto Nathan Rogers. His ancestors moved from Sunderland to Venice in about 1800, later settling in Trieste, Milan and Florence. In 1939 William Nino Rogers decided to come back to England. Upon moving to England, Richard Rogers went to St Johns School, Leatherhead. Rogers did not excel academically, which made him believe that he was "stupid because he could not read or memorize his school work" and as a consequence he stated that he became "very depressed". He wasn't able to read until the age of 11, and it was not until after he had his first child that he realised that he was dyslexic. After leaving St Johns School, he undertook a foundation course at Epsom School of Art (now University for the Creative Arts) before going into National Service between 1951 and 1953. He then attended the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, where he gained the Architectural Association's Diploma (AA Dipl) from 1954 until 1959, subsequently graduating with a master's degree (M Arch) from the Yale School of Architecture in 1962 on a Fulbright Scholarship. While studying at Yale, Rogers met fellow architecture student Norman Foster and planning student Su Brumwell.