Writer · 1694 – 1778
Voltaire
Produced a vast body of plays, essays, histories and the satirical masterpiece Candide, attacked tyranny and intolerance with unmatched wit, and helped make the Enlightenment ideals of liberty and reason a popular cause.
Greatest Achievements
- Wrote Candide and a vast body of plays, essays and histories.
- Campaigned against religious intolerance and judicial injustice.
- Popularized Newtonian science and English liberties in France.
Major Accomplishments
- Wrote Candide and a vast body of plays, essays and histories.
- Campaigned against religious intolerance and judicial injustice.
- Popularized Newtonian science and English liberties in France.
Major Works
- Candide
- Letters on the English
- Treatise on Tolerance
Impact Analysis
Voltaire became the emblem of the Enlightenment's commitment to reason, tolerance and free expression, and his writings helped prepare the intellectual ground for the French Revolution.
Historical influence score: 90/100