Francis Bacon

Lore & Background

Francis Bacon was born on 22 January 1561 at York House near Strand in London, the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon and Anne Cooke Bacon. He was educated at home in his early years due to poor health, then attended Trinity College, Cambridge at age 12, where he followed the medieval curriculum in Latin. His studies led him to believe that the methods and results of science as then practiced were erroneous. After his father's sudden death in 1579, Bacon was left with limited funds and took up residence in law at Gray's Inn, eventually becoming a barrister in 1582.

Bacon's parliamentary career began in 1581 when he was elected MP for Bossiney, Cornwall. He later sat for Melcombe, Taunton, Liverpool, Middlesex, Ipswich, and Cambridge University. He became known as a liberal-minded reformer, opposing feudal privileges and religious persecution, and advocating for the union of England and Scotland. He served as the first Queen's Counsel designate in 1597 and later became Attorney General and Lord Chancellor under James I. He was knighted in 1603, created Baron Verulam in 1618, and Viscount St Alban in 1621.

Bacon argued that science could be achieved through a sceptical and methodical approach, avoiding self-deception. His specific proposals, the Baconian method, did not have long-lasting influence, but the general idea of a sceptical methodology made him a founder of the scientific method. He promoted scientific experimentation as a way of glorifying God and fulfilling scripture. He also developed a system for cataloguing books under three categories: history, poetry, and philosophy.

Reader's Guide

Francis Bacon's significance lies in his foundational role in the development of the scientific method and empiricism. He argued that scientific knowledge should be based only upon inductive reasoning and careful observation of events in nature, rejecting the barren and argumentative Aristotelian philosophy of his time. His emphasis on a sceptical and methodical approach, whereby scientists aim to avoid misleading themselves, provided a new rhetorical and theoretical framework for science. Although his Baconian method did not have lasting influence, the general idea of a sceptical methodology remains central to debates on science and methodology. Bacon's works were influential throughout the Scientific Revolution, and he is often called the father of empiricism. His legacy also includes his service as a statesman under James I, his advocacy for the union of England and Scotland, and his contributions to library cataloguing. The Baconian theory of Shakespeare authorship, a fringe theory first proposed in the mid-19th century, contends that Bacon wrote at least some of the plays attributed to William Shakespeare.

Did You Know?

• Bacon was the first recipient of the Queen's counsel designation, conferred in 1597 when Elizabeth I appointed him as her legal advisor.
• He developed a system for cataloguing books under three categories: history, poetry, and philosophy.
• Bacon had no heirs, so his titles Baron Verulam and Viscount St Alban became extinct on his death in 1626.
• He is buried at St Michael's Church, St Albans, Hertfordshire.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Libraries are as the shrine where all the relics of the ancient saints, full of true virtue, and that without delusion or imposture, are preserved and reposed." — Francis Bacon "The monuments of wit survive the monuments of power." — Francis Bacon "Scientia potestas est. / Scientia potentia est. / Scientia est potentia." — Francis Bacon "Nay, number (itself) in armies, importeth not much, where the people is of weak courage; for (as Virgil saith) it never troubles the wolf how many the sheep be." — Francis Bacon