Roger Bacon. Illustration of the English philosopher and alchemist, Roger Bacon (c.1214- 1292). He studied at Oxford and Paris, before becoming a Franciscan monk around 1247. Bacon had many of his works suppressed and was imprisoned for 14 years at the end of his life. He was neither an experimentalist nor a mathematician but believed these approaches were needed for science. He foresaw man controlling nature; made predictions on mechanical land transport, air and undersea transport; and mentioned gunpowder. Bacon foreshadowed Paracelsus by claiming alchemy was essential to medicine.