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This is the date of is birth.
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He got in trouble with the authorities. He was imprisoned in the Bastille for eleven months for writing a satire of the French government. During his time in prison he wrote “Oedipe” which was his first theatrical success, and also adopted his pen name “Voltaire.”
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In 1726, Voltaire insulted the powerful nobleman, “Chevalier De Rohan,” and was given two options: imprisonment or exile. He chose exile and from 1726 to 1729 he lived in England.
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When he returned to Paris he wrote a book praising English customs and institutions. It was taken as criticism of the French government, and was forced to leave Paris again.
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On a visit to Paris that year, he found a new love: his niece. At first, his attraction to Marie Louise Mignot was sexual, as evidenced by his letters to her (only discovered in 1937).
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He studied with an intellegent woman friend and was voted in after a few years.
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After the death of “Marquise du Chatelet” he moved to Potsdam.
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Voltaire left Potsdam to return to France.
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Voltaire purchased an estate called “Ferney” near the French-Swiss border where he lived until just before of his death
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He died on this day.
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His remains were moved to a resting place at the Pantheon in Paris.
