Life of Rodger Bacon

The Life of Rodger Bacon

Rodger Bacon should not be mistaken with Kevin Bacon or the leader of Bacon's Rebellion but is just as important. He was born at, Ilchester, Somerset in 1220 and was known as DOCTOR MIRABILIS, meaning Ð''wonderful teacher' in Latin. Bacon was an English Franciscan philosopher and educational reformer who was a major medieval advocate of experimental science and mathematics.

Bacon studied mathematics, astronomy, optics, alchemy, and languages. He was the first European to describe in detail the process of making gunpowder, and he proposed flying machines and motorized ships and carriages. Bacon displayed an amazing energy and zeal in the pursuit of experimental science; without a doubt, his studies were talked about everywhere and eventually won him a place in popular literature as a kind of wonder worker.

Despite his advanced knowledge, Bacon accepted some of the popular but later disproved beliefs of his time, such as the existence of a philosopher's stone and the efficacy of astrology. Although many inventions have been credited to him, some of them undoubtedly were derived from the study of Arab scientists. His writings brought new and ingenious views on optics, particularly on refraction; on the apparent magnitude of objects; and on the apparent increase in the size of the sun and moon at the horizon. He found that with sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal, a substance (now known as gunpowder) could be produced that would imitate lightning and cause explosions. The previous use of gunpowder by the Arabs, however, has since been shown. Bacon considered mathematics, together with experimentation, is the only means of arriving at a knowledge of nature. Six of his works were printed between 1485 and 1614, and in 1733 the Opus Majus was edited and published.