Francis Bacon was born on 22 January 1561 in York House, Strand. An English philosopher, statesman and essayist, Bacon rose to be Lord Chancellor under James I but was convicted of accepting bribes in 1621 and removed from office. His lasting influence comes from his writings on science. In works such as the Novum Organum he argued that knowledge should be built from systematic observation and experiment rather than from inherited authority, helping to lay the foundations of the empirical method. His utopian tale New Atlantis imagined an institution devoted to scientific research and inspired the founders of the Royal Society. According to a popular story, he caught his final illness while experimenting with preserving a chicken in snow.
Before and after
- 1559Founding of University of Geneva
- from 1560 to 1621Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom
- 1560Construction of Humayun's Tomb
- from 9 May 1560 to 14 May 1560Battle of Djerba
- 22 January 1561Birth of Francis Bacon
- from 2 April 1562 to 30 April 1598French Wars of Religion
- 25 November 1562Birth of Lope de Vega
- from 1563 to 1570Northern Seven Years' War
- 1563Construction of Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial
More in Art, literature & culture
- 15th centuryConstruction of Red Square
- 1600Rise of Baroque music
- 1602Publication of Hamlet
- c. 1653The Taj Mahal is completed
- 1661Construction of Palace of Versailles
- October 1745Publication of God Save the King
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.