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By the time he left school, Francois-Marie knew that he wanted to be a writer, despite his father’s wishes that he pursue a career as a public officer. He pretended to work as an assistant to a notary, but when his father discovered that most of his son’s time was spent writing poetry instead, he sent him to law school. Francois-Marie served as secretary to the French ambassador in the Netherlands, where he fell in love with a Protestant refugee. Their planned elopement was found out, however, and Francois was forced to return to France. Back at home, he continued to write. At the same time, he had several run-ins with the Parisian authorities, often for his critiques of the government, which resulted in numerous incarcerations and exiles. Francois adopted the pen name “Voltaire,” based on an anagram of the Latinized version of his surname, in 1718. This was not his only pseudonym, though; he supposedly used at least 178 additional names throughout his career, primarily to protect his identity.
After Voltaire’s first exile from France, he resided in Great Britain for nearly three years. He was impressed by England’s constitutional monarchy, as well as its freedoms of speech and religion. After his return to France, he wrote a book praising the British government for its obvious superiority, but when French officials found out, they burned the book and Voltaire was again forced to flee. This time, he went to the Chateau de Cirey, where he began a fifteen-year relationship with the Chateau’s Marquise. He began to delve into studies of science and math, drawing inspiration from Sir Isaac Newton. He left the Marquise and began a new relationship with his niece, with whom he would later live until his death. After the Marquise passed away, Voltaire was employed by Frederick the Great, a position that contented the writer until their relationship began to deteriorate and he was arrested for satirizing a close companion of the king. Banned from Paris, he moved to Geneva and then Ferney. Voltaire returned to Paris in 1778 but fell ill and passed away in May of that year. Because of his religious sentiments, he was denied a Christian burial, but he was secretly laid to rest at the abbey of Scellieres.
Born | |
Graduated from the College Louis-le-Grand | |
Adopted the pen name 'Voltaire' | |
Exiled to Great Britain | |
Fled to the Chateau de Cirey | |
Fell in love with his niece | |
Death of the Marquise | |
Was employed by King Frederick the Great | |
Publication of Candide | |
Saved a Huguenot man, Jean Calais, from an unjust conviction | |
Died |
Taking of Quebec in | The Story of France by Mary Macgregor |
Voltaire's Last Visit to Paris in | Historical Tales: French by Charles Morris |
Voltaire and Frederick the Great in | Historical Tales: German by Charles Morris |
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![]() Voltaire's last visit to Paris in Historical Tales: French |
Great Prussian military leader in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years War. | |
Romantic Political Philosopher who influenced both the American and the French Revolutions. | |
Louis XV | Indulgent and dissolute monarch of France, whose corrupt reign set the stage for the French revolution. |