Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Lord Chancellor of England, is usually considered to be the man primarily responsible for the formulation and establishment of the so-called "scientific method" in science, stressing experimentation and induction from data rather than philosophical deduction in the tradition of Aristotle. Bacon's writings are also credited with leading to the founding of the Royal Society of London.

Karl von Linné, or Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) is widely regarded as the father of biological taxonomy. The standard classification system of plants and animals still used today is known as the Linnaean system. He was a man of great piety and respect for the Scriptures.