Subject

Born York House in the Strand. Died in Highgate at Arundel House, the home of his friend, Thomas Howard, Lord Arundel. The site is now occupied by St. Michael's Church, South Grove. Travelling towards Highgate, he chose to make use of the snow on the ground to examine the effect of cold on the speed of decay of meat. His experiment involved stuffing a chicken with snow. Bacon caught a cold, and died of bronchitis. We have no news on the chicken. This standard account is recorded in John Aubrey’s Brief Lives c.1690. Trouble is, records show there was no snow on the ground that spring. An alternative account is given by Bacon himself. Prior to dying he wrote a letter (unfinished) to Arundel apologising for turning up without notice. He explains that he had been carrying out some experiments on himself in London and on the way home he had become violently sick. No unfortunate chicken involved in this version.

All that remains of Arundel House is The Old Hall in South Grove. Sadly there is no plaque there, but nearby Bacon Lane commemorates his death. Married in St Marylebone church in 1606.

The Essays: Instauratio Magna et Novum Organum, History of the Reign of Henry VII, De Dignitate et Aligmentis Scientiarum.

Student of Lincoln's Inn 1576
Barrister 1582
Reader 1588
Dean of Chapel 1589
MP for Middlesex 1593
Solicitor General 1607
Treasurer 1608 - 1617
Attorney General 1613
Lord Keeper 1617
Lord Chancellor 1618