Francis Bacon was born on January 22nd, 1561, at York House,
Strand, London. By the standards of the time Bacon had a
privileged upbringing. His father was Sir Nicolas Bacon, Lord
Keeper of the Great Seal. Between 1573 and 1576, Bacon studied
at Trinity College, Cambridge. Between 1576 and 1579, he went to
France to study under Sir Amias Paulet. In 1579 his father
suddenly died and Bacon returned to London and started a career
in law. He was called to the Bar in 1582. He was a ferocious
worker who had a very sound legal mind. However, his ability and
arrogance made him enemies and Bacon found that he did not get
the promotion that he thought he merited. In 1584 Bacon became
MP for Melcombe Regis, Dorset. He placed faith in the belief
that a position within the Commons would do his chances of
advancement no harm at all. Though his legal ability had been
recognised, he came up against a major stumbling block - Lord
Burghley who saw his son, Robert Cecil, as his natural successor
and Bacon was seen as a rival. B