Bacon, FRANCIS

1561-1626. English lawyer and philosopher, son of Sir Nicholas (1509-1579), Keeper of the Seal. He climbed slowly under the patronage of Lord Burghley and the Earl of E ex; M.P. 1584. Under James I. he became Attorney-General 1613, Privy Councilor 1616, Lord Chancellor 1618, Baron Verulam 1618, Viscount St. Albans 1621; convicted of bribery and removed from office 1621; celebrated for his E ays, completed 1612; Apothegms, History of Henry VII., and several miscellaneous works. His chief fame rests upon his philosophical treatises, which show him to be one of the greatest thinkers that ever lived. He endeavored to refound the study of science upon the basis of inductive reasoning, thus becoming the forerunner of modern investigation. This portion of his works is cla ified under the heads of the Instaurstio Magna, which were: Part it i ones Scient i arum, a survey of science; Interpretatio Naturæ, or the new method represented in the Novum Organum; Hist or i a Natural is et Experimental is, a collection of facts for use in applying the method; Scala Intel lectus , types of study; Prodromi , a training for The New Phi losophy ; Works , 7 vols., 1870.