Dromo's Den

[Up] [Dromo's Den]

Sir Nicholas Bacon Biography

Sir Nicholas Bacon Image

BACON, Sir Nicholas (1509-79). A distinguished English statesman, father of Francis Bacon. He was born at Chislehurst, graduated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in 1527, and was called to the bar in 1533. He acquired a large property from confiscated monastery lands and in 1546 became Attorney to the Court of Wards and Liveries. He was in favor with Edward VI and, although a stanch Protestant, he escaped persecution under Mary and was even allowed to retain his office in the Court of Wards and Liveries. After the accession of Elizabeth he was Lord High Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal from 1558 to his death. As holder of this office he presided over Elizabeth's first Parliament and took a considerable part in the religious discussions preceding the Act of Supremacy. Brother-in-law of Cecil, he, in general, supported his policies, although at times he advocated a more strongly Protestant view. Sir Nicholas was one of those solid and stately Englishmen to whose sagacity, high principles, and firm demeanor his country owed its safety in that critical period when Elizabeth mounted the throne.

The New International Encyclopaedia Vol II. (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 507.