Francis Bacon was born at London. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, at the age of twelve. He studied law and became a barrister in 1582; two years later he took a seat in the House of Commons. His opposition, in 1584, to Queen Elizabeth's tax program retarded his political advancement. While in the earlier days he supported the Earl of Essex, Bacon, in 1601, was involved in his prosecution. With the accession of James I (1566-1625) and thereafter, a number of honours were bestowed on Bacon: he was knighted in 1603, made Solicitor General in 1604, Attorney General in 1613, and Lord Chancellor in 1618.

He had powerful enemies, foremost among them was Sir Edward Coke. "Bacon and Coke were bitter political rivals, in Parliament and the law courts." They even contended for the hand of the same woman, a widow, Lady Elizabeth Hatton, - "beautiful, widowed, and rich."

Bacon, not having come from a rich family, and always pressed for money: accepted, and this is one of the great surprises of history, a litigant's bribe. This was in 1621; so, just four months after he was raised to the peerage, Bacon was evicted from office. ("I do plainly and ingenuously confess that I am guilty of corruption, and do renounce all defense.") Francis Bacon went into retirement and died in 1626; he was buried at Saint Michael's Church in St. Albans, just north of London, Hertfordshire