Voltaire

Introduction & Top Questions
Heritage and youth
Exile to England
Return to France
Life with Mme du Châtelet
Later travels
Achievements at Ferney
Legacy

Quotes References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Life-sized plaster sculpture Seated Voltaire by Jean-Antoine Houdon shows Voltaire draped in a robe, seated with a thoughtful expression and a ribbon crown, against a dark background.

A vintage encyclopedia page shows small type and scientific illustrations. The question What was Enlightenment? is written in old-fashioned blue lettering.

How Voltaire might present Candide and the Age of Enlightenment

Title page of Voltaire's Candide, ou l'Optimisme, printed in 1759, with French text, a floral ornament, and handwritten notes at the bottom.

Worn, closed copy of Voltaire's Candide from 1759, showing its original blue-paper wrapper and exposed, fragile spine with visible stitching.

Open copy of Voltaire's Candide showing pages 242 and 243, with text in French and rough, untrimmed page edges, bound in its original blue-paper wrapper.

Pigalle, Jean-Baptiste: bust of Voltaire

At a Glance

Voltaire summary

Quizzes

Agathon (centre) greeting guests in "Plato's Symposium" oil on canvas by Anselm Feuerbach, 1869; in the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, Germany.

Philosophy 101

Sir Alfred Hitchcock. Circa 1963 publicity photo of Alfred Hitchcock director of The Birds (1963).

Who Said It? Essential Writers, Artists, and Scientists

Related Questions

How did Voltaire argue against torture and cruel punishments?
How did Voltaire contribute to the Enlightenment?
How did Voltaire defend Jean Calas and his family?
How did Voltaire die in 1778?
How did Voltaire help introduce Isaac Newton’s scientific ideas to France?
How did Voltaire improve his estate at Ferney?
How did Voltaire support workers without civil rights in Geneva?
How did Voltaire use wit and satire to criticize intolerance and tyranny?
How did Voltaire’s approach to history differ from histories focused only on wars and kings?
How did Voltaire’s education at the Jesuit college of Louis-le-Grand shape his interest in literature and theater?
How did Voltaire’s ideas about liberty and justice influence later revolutionary thought?
How did Voltaire’s religious beliefs differ from Roman Catholic teaching?
How did Voltaire’s views of Shakespeare differ from his views of Pierre Corneille?
How long was Voltaire held in the Bastille after criticizing the duc d’Orléans?
How was Voltaire received during his final return to Paris?
What businesses did Voltaire establish at Ferney?
What did Voltaire mean by the phrase “Écrasez l’infâme”?
What was Voltaire’s birth name?
What was Voltaire’s relationship with Frederick II of Prussia?
When and where was Voltaire born?
When was Candide published?
Where did Voltaire receive his early education?
Where was Voltaire buried after his death?
Which Voltaire works remain especially important in French literature?
Which civilizations did Voltaire include in Essai sur les moeurs?
Which ideas of John Locke influenced Voltaire?
Which of Voltaire’s plays was his final theatrical success?
Why did Lettres philosophiques cause controversy in France?
Why did Voltaire admire English religious tolerance and political institutions?
Why did Voltaire criticize the power and intolerance of the church?
Why did Voltaire leave Prussia after living at Frederick II’s court?
Why did Voltaire move to Ferney near the Swiss border?
Why did Voltaire quarrel with Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
Why did Voltaire return to Paris in 1778?
Why did Voltaire support enlightened monarchs who introduced progressive reforms?
Why did Voltaire support religious toleration?
Why did Voltaire write about the reign of Charles XII of Sweden?
Why was Jean Calas executed in 1762?
Why was Voltaire forced to leave France for England in 1726?
Why was Voltaire imprisoned in the Bastille in 1717?
Why were Voltaire’s remains moved to the Panthéon in Paris?
Who was Voltaire?
What did Voltaire write?
What was Voltaire’s philosophy?
What did Voltaire contribute to the Enlightenment?
What was Seneca’s family like?
What did Seneca write?
What were Seneca’s political accomplishments?
How did Seneca die?
What is Albert Camus known for?
Where was Albert Camus from?

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External Websites

Libertarianism.org - Voltaire (1694-1778)
World History Encyclopedia - Voltaire
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of Voltaire
Teach Democracy - Voltaire and the Spirit of the Enligtenment (PDF)
Online Library of Liberty - Voltaire (November 21, 1694 - May 30, 1778)
San Francisco State University Faculty Sites - Voltaire: "Sublime, Honorable, and Dear Anti-Christ"
ABC listen - Nightlife - Voltaire Almighty
Official Site of Voltaire Foundation
Age of the Sage - Transmitting the Wisdoms of the Ages - Biography of Voltaire
Voltaire Foundation - About Voltaire

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Voltaire - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Voltaire

French philosopher and author

Also known as: François-Marie Arouet

Written by

René Henry Pomeau

Former Professor of French Literature, University of Paris IV. Author of La Religion de Voltaire and others.

René Henry Pomeau

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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Last updated

Nov. 1, 2026 •History

Voltaire (born November 21, 1694, Paris, France—died May 30, 1778, Paris) was one of the greatest of all French writers. Although only a few of his works are still read, he continues to be held in worldwide repute as a courageous crusader against tyranny, bigotry, and cruelty. Through its critical capacity, wit, and satire, Voltaire’s work vigorously propagates an ideal of progress to which people of all nations have remained responsive. His long life spanned...

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