French writer, historian, and philosopher (1694–1778)
For other uses, see Voltaire (disambiguation).
Voltaire
Portrait c. 1720s, the Musée Carnavalet
Born
François-Marie Arouet (1694-11-21)21 November 1694 Paris, Kingdom of France
Died
30 May 1778(1778-05-30) (aged 83) Paris, Kingdom of France
Resting place
Panthéon, Paris
Occupation
Writer, philosopher, historian
Language
French
Education
Collège Louis-le-Grand
Genres
Fiction (novella
short story
tragedy
poetry)
Non-fiction (polemic
treatise
essay
article
historiography
literary criticism
epistle
correspondence)
Subjects
Religious intolerance, freedom
Literary movement
Classicism
Years active
From 1715
Notable works
Candide The Maid of Orleans The Age of Louis XIV
Partner
Émilie du Châtelet (1733–1749) Marie Louise Mignot (1744–1778)
Philosophy career
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Region
Western philosophy French philosophy
School
Lumières
Philosophes
Deism
Classical liberalism
Main interests
Political philosophy, literature, historiography, biblical criticism
Notable ideas
Philosophy of history,[1] freedom of religion, freedom of speech, separation of church and state
Signature
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François-Marie Arouet (French:[fʁɑ̃swamaʁiaʁwɛ]; 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plumeM. de Voltaire (/vɒlˈtɛər,voʊl-/;[2][3][4] also US: /vɔːl-/;[5][6]French:[vɔltɛːʁ]), was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher (philosophe), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit and his criticism of Christianity (especially of the Roman Catholic Church) and of slavery, Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state.
Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, histories, but also scientific expositions. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets.[7] Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His polemics witheringly satirized intolerance and religious dogma, as well as the French institutions of his day. His best-known work and magnum opus, Candide, is a novella which comments on, criticizes and ridicules many events, thinkers and philosophies of his time, most notably Gottfried Leibniz and his belief that our world is the "best of all possible worlds".[8][9]
^Voltaire, La philosophie de l'histoire, Changuion, 1765.
^"Voltaire". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
^"Voltaire". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
^"Voltaire". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020.
^"Voltaire". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
^"Voltaire". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
^"Voltaire Biography |". Biography Online.
^"Pangloss | fictional character | Britannica". Britannica. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
^owen.pham (20 August 2021). "The Voltaire–Rousseau Debate and Their Views on Evil". Wondrium Daily. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
aʁwɛ]; 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume M. de Voltaire (/vɒlˈtɛər, voʊl-/; also US: /vɔːl-/; French: [vɔltɛːʁ]), was a French...
Aurelio Voltaire Hernández (born January 25, 1967), professionally known as Aurelio Voltaire or simply Voltaire, is a Cuban-American musician, singer...
Voltaire High (French: Mixte, lit. 'Mixed') is a French television series created by Marie Roussin and released by Amazon Prime Video on June 14, 2021...
Voltaire (French pronunciation: [vɔltɛːʁ] ) is a station on Line 9 of the Paris Métro. The station is located under Place Léon Blum (formerly Place Voltaire)...
Voltaire may refer to: Cabaret Voltaire (Zürich), a Swiss cabaret founded in 1916, distinguished by the involvement of Dada artists Cabaret Voltaire (band)...
The Voltaire Falls (French: Chutes Voltaire) is a series of waterfalls in the Voltaire Creek in French Guiana, France. The Voltaire Falls are the largest...
The Friends of Voltaire is an anecdotal biography of 18th-century French Enlightenment writer Voltaire written by English author Evelyn Beatrice Hall...
(/kɒnˈdiːd/ kon-DEED, French: [kɑ̃did] ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The...
The Voltaire Network (French: Réseau Voltaire) is an international non-profit advocacy and alternative media organisation founded and led by French journalist...
Boulevard Voltaire in Marseille Boulevard Voltaire in Paris Impasse Voltaire [fr] in Paris Quai Voltaire in Paris. Rue Voltaire in Grenoble Rue Voltaire [fr]...
The Quai Voltaire is a street located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. 308 meters long, it lies between the Quai Malaquais and Quai Anatole-France....
The Apotheosis of Voltaire led by Truth and crowned by Glory (French: “l’Apothéose de Voltaire conduit par la Vérité et couronné par la Gloire”), also...
This is the discography of British industrial/post-punk band Cabaret Voltaire. A Factory Sample (1978) – "Baader Meinhof" and "Sex in Secret" C81 (1981)...
Denain Voltaire Basket is a French professional basketball club that was founded in 1947, and is based in Denain, France. The club plays in the LNB Pro...
Christina Aguilera at Voltaire is the ongoing second concert residency by American singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera. It is produced by Live Nation...
known for her biography of Voltaire entitled The Life of Voltaire, first published in 1903. She also wrote The Friends of Voltaire, which she completed in...
Works of Voltaire (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire), as well as Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment (previously SVEC, Studies on Voltaire and the...
Jacqueline Voltaire (6 November 1948 – 8 April 2008) was a British-born Mexican actress, model and singer, known for her successful career in telenovelas...
Boulevard Voltaire is a well-known boulevard in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. It was created by Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann during the reign of...
Studio Voltaire is a non-profit gallery and artist studios based in Clapham, South London. The organisation focuses on contemporary arts, staging a celebrated...
the Rosalind Franklin Lecture (commemorating women in humanism), the Voltaire Lecture (on humanism more generally), the Bentham Lecture (co-hosted with...
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