Roger Bacon

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Roger Bacon - English polymath, philosopher and friar (c.1219/20–c.1292)

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03.04.25

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Themed Timelines

Bacon's Influence on Later Scientists and Thinkers (Posthumous)

Later Life, Condemnation, and Death (c. 1268-1294)

Roger Bacon's Linguistic Studies (Throughout his life)

Main milestones

Bacon's Contributions to Optics and Vision (1260s)

Joining the Franciscan Order and the 'Opus Majus' (c. 1257-1268)

Bacon's Interest in Alchemy and Astrology (Throughout his life)

Early Life and Education Timeline (c. 1214-1240s)

The Paris Years: Intellectual Development (c. 1240s-1250s)

Main Milestones

Birth in Ilchester, Somerset, England

c. 1214

Roger Bacon was born into a relatively affluent family in Ilchester, Somerset, a time marked by political instability during the reign of King John. The precise date is uncertain, hovering around 1214. His birth coincided with a period of significant intellectual growth in Europe, laying the groundwork for his later scholarly pursuits. His family background likely afforded him access to early education and resources that were not common for the time.

Studies at Oxford University

c. 1230s

Bacon embarked on his formal education at Oxford University, a leading center of learning in England. He studied the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy), the traditional liberal arts curriculum. Oxford exposed him to prominent scholars and influential texts, shaping his early intellectual development and sparking his lifelong interest in philosophy and the natural world.

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Brief

Known For

Early advocate for the scientific method, particularly for empirical observation and experimentation; contributions to optics, alchemy, astronomy, and mathematics; considered an influential figure in the development of science and philosophy.

Daily Chronicle

1 January, 1582

The Gregorian calendar was adopted. Pope Gregory XIII introduced this calendar reform to correct inaccuracies in the Julian calendar. Roger Bacon proposed a calendrical reform similar to the later system introduced in 1582 under Pope Gregory XIII. Drawing on ancient Greek and medieval Islamic astronomy recently introduced to western Europe via Spain, Bacon continued the work of Robert Grosseteste and criticised the then-current Julian calendar as "intolerable, horrible, and laughable".

22 June, 1266

Pope Clement IV sends a reply to Roger Bacon's correspondence, commissioning "writings and remedies for current conditions". The Pope instructs Bacon not to violate any standing "prohibitions" of his order but to carry out his task in utmost secrecy. This papal patronage allowed Bacon to engage in a wide-ranging consideration of the state of knowledge in his era.

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Roger Bacon

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