Morgan was born in 1545 at Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant, in the parish of Penmachno, near Betws-y-Coed, North Wales (there is some doubt about the exact year of his birth; his memorial in Cambridge, for example, gives 1541).

[5] Morgan then attended St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied a range of subjects including philosophy, mathematics and Greek.

His first clerical benefice was the parish of Llanbadarn Fawr, which he gained in 1572; in 1575 he moved to Welshpool, and then became vicar of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in 1578, where he made his Bible translation.

[7] Following the publication of his Bible, Morgan worked on a revision of the Book of Common Prayer (which had also been translated by Salesbury), published in 1599.

This work was continued after Morgan's death by bishop Richard Parry and scholar John Davies, and a revised version of the Bible was published in 1620.