Francis Bacon

Born in London in 1561, Francis Bacon was an English philosopher, lawyer, statesman, and author who rose to become attorney general and then lord chancellor under King James I. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and at Gray’s Inn, and his public career placed him close to power during a turbulent period in English politics.

Bacon is remembered above all for the force of his ideas. He argued that learning should move beyond old habits of abstract debate and turn toward observation, experiment, and the steady gathering of evidence from the natural world. Because of that, later generations often linked his name with the growth of empirical thinking and the development of the scientific method.

He also wrote some of the most enduring prose of his age. Works such as The Advancement of Learning, Novum Organum, and his Essays show both the grand reach of his thought and his gift for sharp, memorable expression. He died in 1626, but his writing continued to influence philosophy, science, and English literature long after his lifetime.