The Renaissance

Bacon, Francis .................................. B

(1561–1626)

English philosopher and essayist, and a
key voice and advocate of the Scientific
Revolution that followed on the heels of
the Renaissance. Bacon was born in Lon-
don, the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Queen
Elizabeth’s Lord Keeper of the Great Seal,
and Ann Cooke Bacon. He was the nephew
of William Cecil, the chief counselor to
the queen, and his family connections pre-
pared him from an early age for a public
career. At the age of twelve, he entered
Trinity College, Cambridge, where he stud-
ied Aristotelianism but found it lacking
in objectivity. In 1576 he traveled to
France, where he stayed until 1579, upon
the death of his father. Unable to prosper
from his father’s meager legacy, he studied
law at Cambridge and became a barrister
in 1582.

Bacon took a seat in the English par-
liament in 1584 and began seeking ad-
vancement and the patronage of the
queen. His opposition to a scheme for rais-
ing taxes, however, brought him into
Elizabeth’s disfavor. He improved his pros-
pects by allying himself with the Earl of
Essex, a favorite of Elizabeth, and serving
as Essex’s counselor. In 1596 Bacon was
appointed counsel to the Queen, but his
financial situation did not improve and in
1598 he was arrested for debt. After a fall-
ing out with the Earl of Essex, Bacon was
appointed to investigate Essex on the sus-
picion of treason. Essex was executed in
1601; Bacon explained his findings in the

essay “A Declaration of the Practices and

Treasons of the Earl of Essex.”

On the death of Queen Elizabeth in

1603, James I, the first of the Stuart dy-

nasty, ascended the throne of England. Ba-

con earned recognition from the crown

for his help in condemning the Earl of Es-

sex. He was bestowed a knighthood in

1603, became a solicitor in 1607, and was

appointed clerk of the king’s Star Cham-

ber in 1608. In 1613 James named him at-

torney general, and in 1616 Bacon became

a member of the king’s Privy Council. In

1618 he attained the post of Lord Chan-

cellor, in which he advised the king on

English politician and philosopher of science

Sir Francis Bacon.