(1561 - 1626)Englishphilosopher and author. He attended Cambridge University for two years and then left and studied law. His opposition to the dependence upon authority and "logic chopping" of his time, his emphasis on the need for new methods if learning is to advance, and his insistence that investigation should begin with observable facts rather than with theories make him an important figure in the history of scientific thought. —SHSBC Binder 33 Approved Glossary