Francis Bacon 1561-1626

Francis BACON, Viscount St Alban 1561-1626

Biographical Note

Born at York House in the Strand, London, son of Sir Nicholas Bacon (1510–1579), lord keeper, and Anne (c.1528–1610), daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke. Went to Trinity College, Cambridge; admitted to Gray’s Inn, 1576. Bacon travelled to France with the English ambassador Sir Amias Paulet, during which time he undertook various diplomatic tasks. He returned to England early following his father’s death in 1579 and resumed his studies at Gray’s Inn. Admitted to the bar 1582, bencher 1586, reader 1587. MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, Dorset in 1584, 1586 and for Taunton, Somerset in 1586. Knighted by James I in 1603 and was made Solicitor General in 1607, Lord Keeper in 1617 and Lord Chancellor and Baron Veralum in 1618. He became Viscount St Alban in 1621 but was impeached in the same year for taking bribes. He married Alice, daughter of Benedict Barnham, Alderman of London in 1606; the pair had no children. Bacon is well-known for his works on science and natural philosophy, particularly the Novum Organum.

Books

Numerous books survive with his armorial stamp.

Sources

• British Armorial Bindings.
• Peltonen, Markku. "Bacon, Francis, Viscount St Alban (1561–1626), lord chancellor, politician, and philosopher." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Rogers, D. The Bodleian Library and its treasures, 1991, 124-5.