François-Marie Arouet: 1694 In Paris, France

François-Marie Arouet was born in 1694 in Paris, France. Voltaire was the fourth of out five children and was the son of a middle class family. Even from an early age, Voltaire was imbued with skepticism and a sense of rebellion against intolerance.This intolerance of his eventually took him to prison twice in Bastille and periods of exile from France on later dates. Voltaire acquired an introduction to modern letters from his father. He attended College Louis-le-Grand in Paris which is where he acquired his first class education. Voltaire always aspired to be like his idols: Molière, Racine and Corneille. Voltaire’s father greatly opposed the idea. In fact, his father wanted him to get a position of public authority. Voltaire first began as working as a law student and then as a lawyer’s apprentice, and finally, as a secretary to a french diplomat.

Voltaire would retreat to Paris where he established a small portion of his identity. Even though only a few of his works are still read, Voltaire still remains a figure for going against tyranny, bigotry and cruelty. Voltaire’s philosophical works would take the form of short stories. Voltaire made his literary debut in 1718, which is when he first coined his pen name, with his play, Oedipe. Voltaire also worked on many literary works in the 1720’s, writing a mix of poems as well as plays that went between classicism and libertinism. Shakespeare served as a big inspiration to Voltaire in his younger days. In spite of this, as Voltaire grew and discovered his own beliefs of the world and became his own critic, he felt that belittling Shakespeare made him greater. Voltaire’s writings were bringing him a substantial amount of fame outside of France, capturing the attention of people such as Catherine the Great of