Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon (born 22 January 1561, died 9 April 1626) rose to become Attorney General and then Lord Chancellor of England, and was created Baron Verulam and Viscount St Alban. In 1621 Parliament brought twenty-three counts of corruption against him; he was fined and barred from office, and his public career ended in disgrace. He is remembered less for the offices than for the prose — the Essays, which he expanded across three editions (ten pieces in 1597, thirty-eight in 1612, fifty-eight in 1625), remain among the most quoted short works in English.