Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon was the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal under Elizabeth I. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, at twelve and trained as a lawyer. He sat in Parliament for many years and rose under King James I to become Attorney General and then Lord Chancellor in 1618. His Essays, short, wise reflections on topics such as truth, studies, friendship and ambition, became classics of English prose. In The Advancement of Learning and the Novum Organum he argued that knowledge of nature should be built from careful observation and experiment, collecting many particular facts before reaching general laws, rather than relying on ancient authorities or pure reasoning, and he warned against the idols, habits of mind that mislead us. He saw science as a way to relieve human suffering. In 1621 he was charged with accepting gifts from people with cases before him, admitted the charges, was fined and removed from office. According to a well-known story, he caught a chill while stuffing a chicken with snow to see whether cold would preserve meat, and died in 1626.

Francis Bacon is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: A devout Anglican. Source: Wikipedia