The last words of Francis Bacon, Viscount Saint Alban
The English Lord Chancellor, Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (1561–1626), was a prominent Tudor politician, philosopher and scientist.
His last words, written in his will, were:
For my name and memory, I leave it to men’s charitable speeches, and to foreign nations, and the next ages.
The last line of his will.
Background to Sir Francis Bacon’s last words
Being a politician in Tudor England was a risky occupation and many lost their heads over it. However, it was Bacon’s role as a scientist that lead to his death. A highly original thinker, Bacon had the idea during a snowstorm that snow might be used to preserve meat. He bought a gutted chicken from a woman in Highgate Hill, with the intention of testing out his theory on returning home. He became cold and feverish in the snow before being able to get home and took refuge at the Earl of Arundel’s house in Highgate. He remained in bed there for 2 or 3 days and died – either of pneumonia or of an infection from the raw chicken meat.
