Francis Bacon, 1st
Viscount St Alban KC (22 January
1561 – 9 April 1626), son of
Nicholas Bacon by his
second wife Anne
(Cooke) Bacon, was an English
philosopher, statesman,
scientist, lawyer,
jurist, and author. He
served both as Attorney
General and Lord
Chancellor of England.
Although his political
career ended in disgrace, he
remained extremely
influential through his
works, especially as
philosophical advocate
and practitioner of
the scientific
revolution. Indeed, his
dedication may have brought
him into a rare
historical group of
scientists who were
killed by their own
experiments. His most
celebrated works
include The New
Atlantis.
His works
established and
popularized an
inductive methodology for
scientific inquiry, often called
the Baconian method or simply, the scientific method. His demand
for a planned procedure of investigating all things natural marked
a new turn in the rhetorical and theoretical framework for science,
much of which still surrounds conceptions of proper methodology
today.
Bacon was knighted in 1603, created Baron Verulam in 1618,
and Viscount St Alban in 1621; without heirs, both peerages became
extinct upon his death.