Sir Francis Drake was an English explorer, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. He is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580. He was also a vice admiral in the Royal Navy during the same period. His contemporary, Sir Francis BACON, was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, and author. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. He is often credited as the father of empiricism and is widely regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of the scientific revolution.