Nicholas Bacon
Nicholas Bacon (1510-1579) was a prominent English lawyer and politician known for his influential role during the Tudor period. Born in Chislehurst, Kent, he pursued his education at Cambridge and Gray's Inn, where he became a barrister in 1533. Bacon entered politics in 1545, representing Dartmouth in Parliament and eventually ascending to significant legal positions, including Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and Lord Chancellor under Queen Elizabeth I. He was a notable figure in the promotion of arts and sciences, supporting individuals like mathematician Leonard Digges.
Bacon's personal life included two marriages; his first wife, Jane Ferneley, died in 1552, after bearing him six children. He later married Anne Cooke, with whom he had a son, the renowned philosopher Francis Bacon. Despite facing challenges during Queen Mary’s reign due to his Protestant beliefs, Bacon managed to regain favor under Elizabeth I. His legacy includes a collection of writings that reflects his Stoic philosophy and his contributions to political thought. Bacon died in 1579, leaving behind a complex legacy as a statesman, patron, and writer.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Nicholas Bacon
Politician
- Born: December 28, 1510
- Birthplace: Chislehurst, Kent, England
- Died: February 20, 1579
- Place of death: England
Biography
Nicholas Bacon was born on December 28, 1510, at Chislehurst in Kent. He was the second son of Robert Bacon, a prosperous yeoman. He attended the Abbey Grammar School at Bury St. Edmunds before going to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1527, and was at Gray’s Inn studying law by 1532, remaining associated with it for the rest of his career. He was called to the bar in 1533, and acquired considerable property following Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. He married Jane Ferneley in 1540; she bore him six children before dying in 1552.
Bacon became a member of parliament in 1545, representing Dartmouth, and became treasurer of Gray’s Inn in 1552. Shortly after his first wife’s death he married Anne, the daughter of the influential courtier and one-time tutor to the future Edward VI, Sir Anthony Cooke. The younger child of this second marriage was the philosopher Francis Bacon, born in 1561; although there seems no reason to doubt that Nicholas Bacon was his father, rumors persisted for centuries that Anne might not have been his mother.
Bacon’s career was slightly hindered when Queen Mary came to the throne, although he suffered less than many leading Protestants. He was swiftly recalled when Elizabeth became queen in 1558. He served initially as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and was then appointed Lord Chancellor in 1559, presiding thereafter over the House of Lords; his preferment was indebted to the influence of his brother-in-law. He became a significant patron in his turn, acquiring Matthew Parker his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury. He was also a patron of the arts and—more remarkably—the emergent sciences; those he helped included the mathematician and astronomer Leonard Digges.
Bacon was excluded from the Privy Council in 1564 for allegedly helping to publish “A Declaration of the Succession of the Crowne Imperial of England” by John Hales. The pamphlet favored the claim of Lady Catherine Grey to succeed Elizabeth, should the queen die of the smallpox from which she was then suffering, rather than Elizabeth’s own choice, Sir Robert Dudley. Bacon was, however, soon restored to favor as Dudley’s fortunes waned. The reply Bacon wrote to the assertion of his guilt by Sir Anthony Browne remains one of the most significant of his various writings, few of which were published during his lifetime.
Although he had written a poem to his wife while she was ill in 1558, most of Bacon’s poetry was probably written during the period of disgrace in the 1560’s; most of the items are earnest celebrations of Stoic virtues, although there are a few frivolous pieces, notably “Of a Snowe Balle.” A compilation of his speeches, poems and letters preserved in the Huntingdon Library—catalogued as his “commonplace book”—served as a key source for various reprints. He died on February 20, 1579.