On This Day In History: John Dee, English Mathematician, Occultist, Astrologer, Astronomer Was Born – On July 13, 1527
Dee, one of the most learned men of his time, lived when people were in the process of learning the difference between science and magic.
From the Private Library of John Dee, Cicero, Opera, Omnia Vol 2, with ship drawing. © RCP and John Chase.
He was also interested in magic and Hermetic philosophy. He spent the last third of his life mainly studying these subjects. During his time, these subjects did not oppose science. They were thought to be part of science.
He graduated from St. John’s College, Cambridge, when he was eighteen. He was a founding fellow of Trinity College.
He lectured briefly at Cambridge and later studied in continental Europe under the famous mathematician-cartographers such as Abraham Ortelius and Gerardus Mercator.
Hoping to obtain an official position with the English crown, Dee turned down a mathematical professorship at the University of Paris in 1551 and a similar position at the University of Oxford in 1554.
In 1555, Dee was arrested and charged with practicing black magic for having cast horoscopes of Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth.
The charges were expanded to treason against Mary; Dee cleared himself, was released, and became a scientific advisor to Elizabeth I, even acting as a spy for her. He built a laboratory and the most extensive private library in England, which was said to have more than 4,000 books and manuscripts.
Left: The Magical Disc. © Courtesy Trustees of the British Museum; Middle: John Dee, Ashmolean Portrait, artist unknown c1594. © Ashmolean Museum; Right: Claude Lorrain, Mirror in a shark skin case, believed at one tie to be John Dee’s scrying mirror. © Science Museum, Wellcome Images
In the early 1580s, he started using supernatural ways to get more knowledge, especially from the angels, so he met Edward Kelly, who became his companion. Kelly helped Dee to get visions from angels using a crystal ball.
In 1583, while Dee was away in Europe, his home and library at Mortlake were destroyed by a mob; most probably, many of his books were stolen by former friends and associates.
He asked Queen Elizabeth for help. She made him Warden of Christ’s College, Manchester, in 1592. He remained in this position until 1604. When Elizabeth I died in 1603, Dee was forced to retire.
Related Post
The entire tomb is filled with signs and symbols that mention Queen Nefertiti and after some time passed and linguistic experts managed to decipher the stories told here, the team was baffled.
The mystery of the Solar Temple of Abu Gurab and its “Star Gate” comes to light
Thuya, the mother of Queen Tiye, left a monumental legacy by becoming the grandmother of Akhenaten and Tutankhamun.
The oldest traditions lead us to believe that blacks were the first inhabitants of Mexico.
The REAL face of King Tut: The pharaoh had feminine hips, clubfoot, and protruding teeth according to the ‘virtual autopsy,’ which also revealed that his parents were brother and sister.
The “oldest gold of humanity” was found in the Varna necropolis, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast