Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Francis Bacon, was an English philosopher and statesman and one of the Inn’s most celebrated members. A full biography and timeline of his life can be found in the History section of the Inn’s website.
The Francis Bacon Collection
The Library holds a substantial collection of the works of Francis Bacon with many items in the first edition. In addition to Bacon’s own works there are a number of historical and critical studies addressing Bacon’s cipher and the Baconian theory of Shakespearian authorship.
View a complete list of the Francis Bacon Collection (PDF)
Life and Work of Francis Bacon
- Attended Trinity College, Cambridge – 1573
- Joined Gray’s Inn – 1576
- Sat in Parliament for the first time for Bossiney, Cornwall – 1581
- Called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn – 1582
- Argued in parliament for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots – 1586-87
- Raised to Bencher of Gray’s Inn – 1586
- Elected as Reader proper at Gray’s Inn – 1587
- Served as Dean of the Chapel at Gray’s Inn – 1589-90
- Began development of ‘The Walks’ at Gray’s Inn – 1590s
- Argued his first two cases in the court of King’s Bench and one in the court of Exchequer – 1594
- Elected double Reader at Gray’s Inn – 1600
- Awarded knighthood by James I – 1603
- Promoted to Solicitor-General – 1607
- Made Treasurer of Gray’s Inn – 1608-17
- Awarded the position of Attorney-General – 1613
- Sworn in to the Privy Council – 1616
- Appointed Lord Privy Seal – 1617
- Appointed Lord Chancellor and raised to the peerage as Baron Verulam of Verulam – 1618
- Created Viscount St Alban – 1621
- Died on 9 April – 1626
- Statue of Bacon, by F. W. Pomeroy erected in South Square, Gray’s Inn – 1912
Selected works by Bacon:
- Novum Organum
- The Advancement of Learning
- History of Life and Death
- The New Atlantis
- Bacon’s Essay’s
- The Wisdom of the Ancients
(Electronic versions provided via the Internet Archive and are not exact facsimiles of the editions held by the Library)
