What is "voltaire"

name taken from 1718 by French author François Marie Arouet (1694-1778) after his imprisonment in the Bastille on suspicion of having written some satirical verses; originally de Voltaire. The signification is uncertain.

François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume Voltaire (; ), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state.

Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken advocate of several liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day.

Voltaire is a station on line 9 of the Paris Métro. The station is located in the Place Léon Blum (formerly called the Place Voltaire) along with the town hall of the 11th arrondissement, which serves a lively district.

The station was opened on 10 December 1933 with the extension of the line from Richelieu – Drouot to Porte de Montreuil. It is named after the Rue Voltaire, which is named after François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778), better known under the pen name Voltaire, a French Enlightenment writer and philosopher.

Voltaire was an influential sire of show jumpers and dressage horses. Additionally, he competed successfully at the international level in show jumping.

Voltaire is the pen name of French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher François-Marie Arouet.

Voltaire may also refer to:

People:

• Voltaire (surname), a list of people
• Jacqueline Voltaire (1948–2008), British-born Mexican actress, model and singer
• Voltaire (musician) (born 1967), dark cabaret Cuban-American musician

Places:

• Voltaire, North Dakota, a city in the United States
• Voltaire Township, Sherman County, Kansas
• Voltaire (crater), an impact crater on Mars' moon Deimos
• 5676 Voltaire, an asteroid

Ships:

• French battleship Voltaire, a Danton-class pre-dreadnought battleship
• Voltaire, one of the names of the French ship Viala (1795), a ship of the line

Other uses:

• Boulevard Voltaire, a boulevard in Paris
• Voltaire (Paris Métro), a Paris Métro station
• Voltaire (film), a 1933 biographical film starring George Arliss as the French writer and philosopher
• Voltaire (horse), an influential sire of show jumpers and dressage horses
• Le Voltaire (newspaper), a French daily newspaper established in 1878
• Voltaire (racehorse), a Thoroughbred racehorse
• Voltaire, a computer network equipment manufacturer acquired by Mellanox Technologies in 2010
• Voltaire Network, an international non-profit organization

Voltaire is a 1933 American Pre-Code biographical film starring George Arliss as the renowned 18th century French writer and philosopher.

Aurelio Voltaire Hernández (born January 25, 1967), professionally known by the mononym Voltaire, is a Cuban-American dark cabaret musician. His stage name is his given middle name, which was the pen name of the famous French Enlightenment writer François-Marie Arouet.

Voltaire is also an experienced animator and comic artist, and is a professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Voltaire is an impact crater on Mars's moon Deimos and is approximately across. Voltaire crater is named after François-Marie Arouet, a French Enlightenment writer who was better known by the pen name Voltaire, who in his 1752 short story " Micromégas" predicted that Mars had two moons. Voltaire crater is one of two named features on Deimos, the other being Swift crater. On 10 July 2006, Mars Global Surveyor took an image of Deimos from away showing Voltaire crater and Swift crater.

Voltaire (1826 – 16 April 1848) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won five of his six races, including the Doncaster Gold Cup in 1828. After retiring from racing he became a successful stallion, siring St. Leger winner Charles the Twelfth and Voltigeur, who won both the Epsom Derby and the St. Leger. He was bred and owned by Robert Stephenson, before being sold to William Vane, Marquess of Cleveland, whom he raced for as a three-year-old.

Voltaire is the surname of:

• Voltaire Volly De Faut (1904–1973), American jazz reed player
• Voltaire Gazmin (born 1944), 40th commander of the Philippine Army, lieutenant general, and Secretary of National Defense of the Republic of the Philippines
• Voltaire Molesworth (1890–1934), Australian politician
• Voltaire P. Twombly (1842-1918), American Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor