Denis Diderot

Denis Diderot (1713–1784) was a French writer, philosopher, and leading figure of the Enlightenment. He wrote novels, dialogues, plays, and essays and also worked as a translator and literary and art theorist. Together with Jean le Rond d’Alembert, he edited the Encyclopédie and contributed numerous articles to it. His best-known works include Rameau’s Nephew, Jacques the Fatalist and His Master, and La Religieuse (The Nun). In 1749, Diderot was imprisoned for several months for disseminating atheist ideas. In 1773, he traveled to Russia at the invitation of Empress Catherine II.