Background: Francis Bacon was born at York House which stood at the corner of Villiers Street and the Strand in London, WC2. He died at Arundel House, the site of which is now occupied by St. Michael’s Church, Highgate, and Old Hall, 17 South Grove, London, N6. Bacon’s Lane, London, N6, is named after him.

Work: A philosopher, essayist, statesman, and innovative thinker. Students today are often taught that he was important in the development of scientific method because he applied the inductive method of modern science as opposed to the a priori method of medieval scholars. For this he is sometimes called the Father of Modern Science .
In 1573 Bacon and his elder brother Anthony (1558-1601), left, who was also gay, entered Trinity College, Cambridge. They then went to Gray’s Inn, London, in 1576. In 1582 Francis was called to the bar and began a very successful law practice. He became a Member of Parliament in 1584, and he was appointed Queen Elizabeth I’s Counsellor in 1591. James I (1566-1625) acceded to the thrown in 1603 and in the same year Francis Bacon was knighted. He became Solicitor General in 1607, Attorney General in 1613, and Lord High Chancellor in 1618. He was conferred the title of Baron Verulam in 1618, and of Viscount St. Alban621.

Friends & Relationships: Bacon’s personal friendship with King James I (left)may have been a factor in his swift rise to power. James’s homosexual loves are well-established, and he was known as “Queen James”. However, Bacon had to be more discreet. His brother-in-law, Mervyn Touchet, was executed in 1631 for his homosexuality, as were two of Touchet’s servants.
In 1606 when he was 45, Bacon married Alice Barnham, a fourteen-year-old alderman’s daughter. This was a childless marriage and he may have felt obliged to embark on it for career and social reasons.
In 1621 Bacon was found guilty of accepting bribes and was fined and imprisoned in the Tower of London for a few days. He was banished to his estate of Gorhambury near St. Albans (below) , and even though the King pardoned him after three months, he was not allowed to return to the London courts or parliament.

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