Son of Leonard Digges (c. 1520 - c. 1559), Thomas was trained in mathematics by his father and the famous English mathematician John Dee (1527-1608), later becoming, in turn, one of the most respected English mathematicians. Pursued a military career as commander of the English army in Holland. Thomas Digges was the first committed supporter of Copernicus (1473-1543) in England. His bold heliocentric ideas were set out in A Perfit description of the Celestiall Orbes (London, 1576). Published many of his works jointly with writings by his father: Alae sive scalae mathematicae (London, 1573), which contains observations on the Stella Nova of 1572; An Arithmeticall Militare treatise named Stratioticos (London, 1579), in which he teaches the algebra and arithmetic necessary for the perfect soldier.