Denis Diderot

Denis Diderot was a French philosopher and writer, a leading figure of the Enlightenment. For over twenty years he edited the Encyclopédie, overcoming bans and censorship to complete it. He also wrote novels, plays and art criticism, and his materialist and sceptical views made him a target of church and state. In 1773–1774 he visited Catherine the Great of Russia, who had bought his library.