John Dee

1527-1609. Mathematician and astronomer, astrologer and alchemist. A famous figure of his time, he was consulted by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, and by Queen Elizabeth I, who enquired about the most promising date for her coronation (Hopkins 21). Dee was also the first to talk about a "British Empire" (ibid.). He probably served as a model for the character of Doctor Faustus in Marlowe's eponymous play as well as the magician Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Source

• Hopkins, Lisa and Matthew Steggle. Renaissance Literature and Culture. London: Continuum, 2006.