Difference between revisions of "Francis Bacon (philosopher)"

From LGBT Archive
Jump to: navigation, search
 
(15 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Francis Bacon''', 1st Viscount St Albans (1561–1625) was an English philosopher,scientist and statesman.
+
[[File:Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban from NPG (2).jpg|thumb|Portrait of Francis Bacon by John Vanderbank (c 1731), after a portrait by an unknown artist (c 1618)]]'''Francis Bacon''', 1st Viscount St Albans (1561–1625) was an English philosopher, scientist and statesman.
  
Bacon was educated at Trinity College,Cambridge for three years from the age of 12, under the tutelage of John Whitgift, later Archbishop of Canterbury, and then at the University of Poitiers. He later studied law, and became a member of parliament. He rose to be Lord Chancellor, but fell into debt. In 1621 he was convicted of corruption, and debarred from holding further offices.
+
Bacon was educated at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]] for three years from the age of 12, under the tutelage of [[John Whitgift]], later Archbishop of Canterbury, and then at the University of Poitiers. He later studied law, and became a member of parliament. He rose to be Lord Chancellor, but fell into debt. In 1621 he was convicted of corruption, and debarred from holding further offices.
  
 
Bacon is known as an early proponent of the scientific method, in opposition to the then-popular Aristotelian philosophy. His devotion to scientific experiments is said to have been the cause of his death: he died of pneumonia after stuffing a fowl with snow to study the effects of freezing on the preservation of meat.
 
Bacon is known as an early proponent of the scientific method, in opposition to the then-popular Aristotelian philosophy. His devotion to scientific experiments is said to have been the cause of his death: he died of pneumonia after stuffing a fowl with snow to study the effects of freezing on the preservation of meat.
  
Bacon is the author of the utopian novel <cite>New Atlantis</cite>, and the philosphical work <cite>Novum Organum</cite>. Some writers have claimed that Bacon was the author of the plays attributed to Shakespeare.
+
Bacon is the author of the utopian novel <cite>New Atlantis</cite>, and the philosphical work <cite>Novum Organum</cite>. Some writers have claimed that Bacon was the author of the plays attributed to [[Shakespeare]].
  
Bacon was married, but had no children, and his wife was suspected of adultery. Bacon himself was reported to be homosexual. John Aubrey noted among his private memoranda concerning Bacon, "He was a Pederast. His Ganimeds and Favourites tooke Bribes",<ref>Oliver Lawson Dick, ed. ''Aubrey's Brief Lives. Edited from the Original Manuscripts'', 1949, ''s.v.'' "Francis Bacon, Viscount of St. Albans" p. 11.</ref> Professor Charles Forker<ref>Charles R. Forker, ''Masculine Love,'' Renaissance Writing, and the ''New Invention'' of Homosexuality: An Addendum in the ''Journal of Homosexuality'' (1996), Indiana University</ref> for example has explored the "historically documentable sexual preferences" of both [[James I|King James]] and Bacon – and concluded they were all oriented to "masculine love", a contemporary term that "seems to have been used exclusively to refer to the sexual preference of men for members of their own gender."<ref>Journal of Homosexuality, Volume: 31 Issue: 3, 1996, pages 85–93, ISSN: 0091-8369</ref>
+
==LGBT aspects==
 +
 
 +
Bacon was married, but had no children, and his wife was suspected of adultery. Bacon himself was reported to be homosexual. John Aubrey noted among his private memoranda concerning Bacon, "He was a Pederast. His [[Ganymede|Ganimeds]] and Favourites tooke Bribes",<ref>Oliver Lawson Dick, ed. ''Aubrey's Brief Lives. Edited from the Original Manuscripts'', 1949, ''s.v.'' "Francis Bacon, Viscount of St. Albans" p. 11.</ref> Professor Charles Forker<ref>Charles R Forker, ''Masculine Love,'' Renaissance Writing, and the ''New Invention'' of Homosexuality: An Addendum in the ''Journal of Homosexuality'' (1996), Indiana University</ref> has explored the "historically documentable sexual preferences" of both [[James I|King James]] and Bacon – and concluded they were all oriented to "masculine love", a contemporary term that "seems to have been used exclusively to refer to the sexual preference of men for members of their own gender."<ref>''Journal of Homosexuality'', Volume: 31 Issue: 3, 1996, pages 85–93, ISSN: 0091-8369</ref>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
Line 13: Line 15:
  
 
[[Category:Politicians]]
 
[[Category:Politicians]]
 +
[[Category:Peers]]
 +
[[Category:Scientists]]
 +
[[Category:1561 births]]
 +
[[Category:1625 deaths]]

Latest revision as of 13:05, 14 March 2016

Portrait of Francis Bacon by John Vanderbank (c 1731), after a portrait by an unknown artist (c 1618)
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans (1561–1625) was an English philosopher, scientist and statesman.

Bacon was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge for three years from the age of 12, under the tutelage of John Whitgift, later Archbishop of Canterbury, and then at the University of Poitiers. He later studied law, and became a member of parliament. He rose to be Lord Chancellor, but fell into debt. In 1621 he was convicted of corruption, and debarred from holding further offices.

Bacon is known as an early proponent of the scientific method, in opposition to the then-popular Aristotelian philosophy. His devotion to scientific experiments is said to have been the cause of his death: he died of pneumonia after stuffing a fowl with snow to study the effects of freezing on the preservation of meat.

Bacon is the author of the utopian novel New Atlantis, and the philosphical work Novum Organum. Some writers have claimed that Bacon was the author of the plays attributed to Shakespeare.

LGBT aspects

Bacon was married, but had no children, and his wife was suspected of adultery. Bacon himself was reported to be homosexual. John Aubrey noted among his private memoranda concerning Bacon, "He was a Pederast. His Ganimeds and Favourites tooke Bribes",[1] Professor Charles Forker[2] has explored the "historically documentable sexual preferences" of both King James and Bacon – and concluded they were all oriented to "masculine love", a contemporary term that "seems to have been used exclusively to refer to the sexual preference of men for members of their own gender."[3]

References

  1. Jump up Oliver Lawson Dick, ed. Aubrey's Brief Lives. Edited from the Original Manuscripts, 1949, s.v. "Francis Bacon, Viscount of St. Albans" p. 11.
  2. Jump up Charles R Forker, Masculine Love, Renaissance Writing, and the New Invention of Homosexuality: An Addendum in the Journal of Homosexuality (1996), Indiana University
  3. Jump up Journal of Homosexuality, Volume: 31 Issue: 3, 1996, pages 85–93, ISSN: 0091-8369