Who was Sir Francis Bacon?
Statesman, Philosopher, and Lawyer.
Date and Place of Birth:
22nd January 1561, York House, The Strand, London,
England.
Family Background:
Youngest son by second marriage of Queen Elizabeth
First's Statesman Sir Nicholas Bacon.
Education:
Trinity College, Cambridge at the age of twelve.
Gray's Inn, London to study law.
Chronology/Biography of Francis
Bacon:
1582: Became a barrister.
1584: Took up his
seat in parliament in the House of Commons but his opposition to
Queen Elizabeth the First's taxation plans meant that he was not
promoted.
1601: He became
one of the Prosecutors of the earl of Essex even though he had originally
been one of his supporters.
1603: He was knighted
by the new King, King James the First.
1607: Appointed
Solicitor General
1613: Became Attorney
General.
1617: Appointed
Lord Keeper.
1618: Became Lord
Chancellor.
1621: Raised to
the Peerage as Lord Verulam of Verulam and then created Viscount
St Albans. He had been well known for accepting bribes at law and
when he was accused of accepting a bribe from one of his current
litigants, he admitted his guilt. He was stripped of all his public
offices and went into retirement. Bacon's philosophical writings,
however, continued to be influential. In particular he is noted
for his theory that the only knowledge of importance to man was
that empirically rooted in nature. He formed the principles of inductive
thinking which were a continuation of the work of Aristotle and
which paved the way for modern scientific theories based on analysis
of natural processes.
Written Works:
- 1594: “Gesta
Gragorum”.
- 1597:
“The Colours of Good and Evil”.
- 1605: “The Advancement
of Learning”.
- 1620:
“Novum Organum”.
- 1622:
“Historia Naturalis et Experimentalis”. “History of the
Reign of King Henry the Seventh"
- 1623: "De
Augmentis Scientarum".
- 1624: "Apothegms"
- 1625: “Slyva
Sylvanum” (including New Atlantis).
- (1630): "Maxims
of the Law". "Elements of the Common Laws of England".
- (1642): "Reading
on the Statute of Uses".
Marriage:
1617 to Alice Barnham.
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
Gray's Inn
Date and Place of Death:
9th April 1626, London, England. Caught a chill
after experimenting with the refrigeration of food by snow.
Age at Death:
65.
Site of Grave:
St. Michael’s Church, St. Albans, Hertfordshire,
England.
