François-Marie Arouet, known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher (philosophe), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit and his criticism of Christianity and of slavery, Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. February 20, 1694 – May 30, 1778; died at 84. Alive at the same time as Isaac Newton, George Washington, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Immanuel Kant, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Wiki link