Voltaire (Garrett Steinberg)

Greetings! My name is François-Marie Arouet, But I'm commonly referred to as Voltaire. I was born on November 21st, 1694 in Paris, France and was the youngest of 5 children. I'm universally claimed to be one of the greatest enlightenment philosophers due to my controversial beliefs and innovative ideas. When I was 10, I began to show promise as a writer and received a classical education at the Collége Louis-le-Grand. I believed heavily in freedom of speech and expression and even if I didn't agree with someone's ideas they still had every god given right to say them. I would speak out and mock my government which got me in quite a bit of trouble. In 1715, I was exiled to Tulle for mocking the regent Orleans. I returned two years later to only be sent to the Bastille prison for libelous poetry. In 1733 I angered the French Government so much with my Letters on the English Nation  that I had to flee to Lorraine. I was granted re-entry many years later in 1778 and the French public recognized me as a literary genius. This was towards the end of my life because I died that year May 30th.