François-Marie Arouet   ( 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778) was a French     writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his     M. de Voltaire , he was famous for his   , and his   —especially   —and of   . Voltaire was an advocate of   ,   , and   .

Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including   , poems, novels, essays, histories, and scientific   . He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets.Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of     and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His     witheringly     intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day. His best-known work and   ,   , is a     which comments on, criticizes, and ridicules many events, thinkers, and philosophies of his time.