Sir Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor under King James I. He argued for natural philosophy guided by the scientific method, and his works remained influential through the Scientific Revolution. The New Atlantis, left unfinished at his death, imagines an island society devoted to organized scientific research. His Essays, first printed in 1597, are short and practical reflections that readers still enjoy. He lived from 1561 to 1626.