July 5, 2008 by Marianne

July 5, 2008 • Filed Under: Famous Bacons

Also known as the Viscount St. Alban, Sir Francis Bacon is best known for his Baconian method, known to this day as the scientific method of inquiry. A widely-respected scientist, philosopher and statesman, Bacon was also believed by some to have ties with the occult, the freemasons and other connections of dubious nature. Despite the enemies who disapproved of Bacon’s ideas and lifestyle, he never lost favor with King James I, a friendship that would save his career and his life.

Bacon tidBits

• Although many historians reject the idea, Sir Francis Bacon is listed (along with his brother Anthony) as one of history’s famous gays by a number of GLBT authors and researchers.
• Some research suggests that Sir Francis Bacon is the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
• Like Christopher Marlowe, Bacon is said to have been the real Shakespeare, penning the Bard’s many famous works under the famous nom de plume.

June 28, 2008 by Marianne

June 28, 2008 • Filed Under: Famous Bacons

Considered by some to be “the first scientist,” Roger Bacon was a Franciscan friar and English philosopher known for his emphasis on empirical research and experimentation. Bacon studied at Oxford at the tender age of 13, and later became an Oxford master, lecturing on the teachings of Aristotle. As with many famous Bacons, Friar Roger was criticized for his forward thinking and rebellion. He criticized not only his contemporaries within the Franciscan order, but the order itself, which landed him on house arrest.

Bacon tidBits

• Bacon is sometimes credited with writing the Voynich Manuscript and Speculum Alchemiae.
• Bacon championed the scientific method, an empirical style of research whose official development would be credited 300 years later to Sir Francis Bacon.
• This friar was a veritable Nostradamus of the sciences…you really must check out his work. Start here: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Bacon)

June 21, 2008 by Marianne

June 21, 2008 • Filed Under: Famous Bacons

Nathaniel Bacon was a wealthy diplomat in the young colony of Virginia, best known for his instigation of the Virginia Rebellion, now called Bacon’s Rebellion. Frustrated by high taxes, low tobacco prices and favoritism shown by Virginia’s Governor William Berkeley, Bacon rallied other landholders around the common issue of the “pestilence” of Native Americans. In their Declaration of the People of Virginia, they demanded that all Natives in the territory be removed or killed. After months of battle, Bacon’s militia burned the capitol of Jamestown to the ground. A month later, however, his death by dysentery led to the collapse of the violent rebellion. Karma much?

Bacon tidBit

• Bacon’s Rebellion was not without results. When King Charles II caught wind of Governor Berkeley’s behavior, the governor was removed from his post and sent packing back to England.

June 16, 2008 by Marianne

June 16, 2008 • Filed Under: Famous Bacons

My husband was so mad that I didn’t include Tremors in Kevin Bacon’s list of hits. I was all, “I think it can be lumped in with his late-eighties slump.” And he’s like, “Nuh-uh. Tremors was made in the nineties.” And it turns out that it was, indeed, made in 1990. And while we will forever disagree on the awesomeness of this movie, we can both agree that it starred Kevin Bacon.

I think my friend Christine would like a copy of this DVD for her birthday.

June 14, 2008 by Marianne

June 14, 2008 • Filed Under: Famous Bacons

Born in Philadelphia, Kevin Bacon is the youngest of six children. His prolific film career began in 1982 with the critically acclaimed Diner. It was with 1984’s Footloose, however, that Kevin became a Hollywood icon. Although he experienced an artistic slump in the late eighties, he made a strong return in the early nineties with films like JFK, A Few Good Men, Murder in the First and Apollo 13. He has continued to make smart and often controversial role choices, keeping him at the top of his field.

Bacon tidBits

• Kevin has been married since 1988 to actress Kyra Sedgwick, with whom he has two children.
• Kevin and his brother Michael tour extensively with their Country/Rock/Folk band, The Bacon Brothers.
• Kevin is the subject of the celebrity trivia game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, which claims that any actor’s movie career can be linked to Bacon in six steps or less.