Bacon, Nathaniel (1647-1676), was a leader of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia. When Governor William Berkeley failed to take quick action in 1676 to repel an Indian invasion, some Virginia planters chose Bacon to lead a force against the Indians. After Bacon’s force defeated the Indians, he attempted to make the governor reform colonial policies. Bacon led an army that captured and burned Jamestown. He controlled the colony briefly in 1676. His death on Oct. 26, 1676, ended the rebellion.
Bacon was born in Suffolk, England, and was educated at Cambridge University. He came to Virginia in 1673.
