Denis Diderot

David J. Adams (University of Manchester)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Tweet Report an Error

Denis Diderot was born, the son of a cutler, in Langres in Champagne on 5 October 1713, and died in Paris on 31 July 1784. He is one of the most original figures of the French Enlightenment, and also, in some ways, one of the most intriguing. Much of his early life, unlike that of equally famous contemporaries such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau or Voltaire, is shrouded in mystery. Many of the works which he published during his lifetime were anonymous, or were ascribed to other writers, and even today his role in their composition is not always clear. Some of the works for which he is now most noted appeared many years after his death. During his lifetime, his most often reprinted works were two plays, though they were hardly ever performed. …

2578 words

Citation: Adams, David J.. "Denis Diderot". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 May 2003 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1261, accessed 29 March 2024.]

1261 Denis Diderot 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.