BACON, Sir FRANCIS (1561-1626), English Jurist and Scientist

Born into a well-connected family, Bacon became active in politics early in life, and in 1618 became lord chancellor. Political opponents found evidence that he had accepted bribes while in this post, however, and after only four years Bacon's political career collapsed. He then turned to scientific pursuits, which had long intrigued him. Bacon was among the first scholars to reject the traditional Aristotelian philosophy of science, preferring a more experimental approach. Although they represented considerable progress for science, Bacon's experiments were not so beneficial to him personally. In the winter of 1626, curious to see whether cold foods would keep longer, Bacon packed a freshly butchered chicken with snow. In doing so, he himself came down with a chill which developed into pneumonia, and he died three days later. Bacon's homosexuality was commented on by several of his contemporaries, including his mother, who chided him for it. His essay On Beauty focuses primarily on male beauty.