Voltaire defined the French Enlightenment with his sharp wit and endless output of letters, plays, and essays. He fearlessly criticized kings and priests, which often landed him in prison or exile. However, the man born François-Marie Arouet was far more than just a writer; he was a shrewd businessman and a tireless advocate for justice. Furthermore, his personal life contained enough scandal and drama to fill a dozen novels. Prepare to open the books on the ultimate free thinker.
Voltaire
Surprisingly, the name “Voltaire” is likely an anagram. He created the famous pseudonym by rearranging the letters of his surname “Arouet” and the initials “L.J.” for “le jeune” (the young). Thus, he shed his father’s name to create his own identity.
He became incredibly rich by rigging the national lottery. Voltaire and a mathematician friend realized the government miscalculated the prize odds. Consequently, they bought up all the tickets and amassed a massive fortune that allowed him to write without financial worry.
Legend says he drank up to forty cups of coffee a day. He loved the stimulant so much that he often mixed it with chocolate. When his doctor warned him that the habit would kill him, he joked that he had been poisoning himself for eighty years.
He wrote his first play while imprisoned in the Bastille. The government locked him up for eleven months after he wrote a satire mocking the French Regent. Instead of despairing, he penned the tragedy Oedipe, which became a huge hit upon his release.
Voltaire never actually said his most famous quote. The line “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” was written by his biographer, Evelyn Beatrice Hall. She used the phrase to summarize his beliefs on free speech.
He lived in exile in England for three years. After a nobleman threatened him, he chose to leave France rather than return to prison. During this time, he learned English and developed a deep admiration for Britain’s constitutional monarchy.
He carried on a sixteen-year affair with a brilliant female scientist. Émilie du Châtelet was a married noblewoman who translated Isaac Newton’s Principia into French. Together, they turned her husband’s estate into a center for scientific experiments and philosophy.
Church officials refused to give him a Christian burial. Because he criticized the clergy his entire life, the Archbishop of Paris denied him a grave. Therefore, his friends secretly transported his body to a distant abbey to bury him before the order arrived.
His heart sits inside a statue in the Bibliothèque Nationale. After his death, doctors removed his heart and preserved it in a metal box. Today, the organ rests inside the base of his sculpture in the French national library.
He worked as a spy for the French government. For a brief period, he sent letters to the French court detailing the activities of Frederick the Great of Prussia. However, he eventually quarreled with the King and fled Berlin.
Voltaire used at least 178 different pen names. To avoid censorship and arrest, he constantly published works under false identities. He often denied writing his own books even when everyone knew he was the author.
He dedicated years to clearing the name of a dead man. In the “Calas Affair,” the state executed a Protestant father for allegedly murdering his son. Voltaire used his fame to prove the man’s innocence and force the King to pay restitution to the family.
Uniquely, he was a millionaire who lent money to kings and princes. His lottery winnings and shrewd investments made him one of the wealthiest commoners in Europe. Thus, the nobility often owed him money, which gave him significant influence.
He wrote the classic novel Candide in just three days. According to legend, he penned his masterpiece in a feverish burst of creativity. The book mocks the idea that we live in the “best of all possible worlds.”
Finally, his remains were moved to the Panthéon during the French Revolution. The revolutionaries considered him a hero and organized a grand procession to bring his body back to Paris. Ironically, he now rests just a few feet away from his rival, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
