1. By: Akshat and Nachiket
Voltaire
By: Akshat and Nachiket

2. Brief Background
Born on November 21, 1694, in Paris, France, Died in 1778
Actual Name: François-Marie Arouet
One of France’s greatest enlightenment writers
Was imprisoned and exiled many times
Wrote against political institutions and against catholic dogma
Wrote plays, poetry, novels, essays, historical/scientific works, over 21,000 letters and over 2,000 books
Fluent in Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, English and of course French

3. Beliefs and Thoughts
Not an atheist but was opposed to organized religion
Mostly opposed to Catholicism and he believed that the bible was an outdated legal reference
Argued for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in France
He was an outspoken supporter of social reform, despite strict censorship laws & harsh penalties of the time period
Similar thinking as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

4. Legacy
He is remembered and honoured in France as a courageous polemicist who persistently fought for civil rights (the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech and freedom of religion)
Anti-democracy
He distrusted democracy, which he saw as propagating the idiocy of the masses.