---

DENIS  DIDEROT
was born at Langres in eastern France in 1713. He was groomed from a young age for a career in the Church but rebelled and persuaded his father to allow him to complete his education in Paris. Along with his editorship of the Encyclopédie (1747–73), he produced works on mathematics, medicine, the life sciences, economics, drama, and painting; wrote two plays and a novel; and created the Salons (1759–81). He died in 1784.