Paris in the Enlightenment
The atlas holds 21 people and 84 moments here, from 1693 to 1815. The most recorded lives are Joséphine de Beauharnais, Voltaire and Montesquieu.
Notable people
Adam Smith
from 1764 to 1766
2 moments here
Scottish moral philosopher and political economist of the Scottish Enlightenment, author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the…
Benjamin Franklin
from 1767 to 1784
6 moments here
American printer, scientist, civic leader, colonial agent, revolutionary statesman, and diplomat.…
Carl Linnaeus
in 1738
1 moment here
Swedish botanist, physician, and naturalist who formalized binomial nomenclature and devised an influential system for classifying organisms.…
David Hume
from 1763 to 1765
2 moments here
Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist. Hume’s documented movements include formative stays in Bristol and France; residences at…
George Sand
in 1804
1 moment here
French novelist, memoirist, journalist, and political writer born Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin.…
Honoré de Balzac
from 1813 to 1814
2 moments here
French novelist and playwright, born in Tours and dead in Paris. Balzac created La Comédie humaine, an interlinked fictional panorama of…
James Monroe
from 1794 to 1803
2 moments here
James Monroe was an American Revolutionary War officer, Virginia politician, diplomat, secretary of state and war, and fifth president of the United…
James Watt
in 1786
1 moment here
Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist whose separate-condenser improvement to the steam engine was foundational to industrialization.…
Jean de La Fontaine
from 1693 to 1695
2 moments here
French fabulist, poet, dramatist, and author whose Fables became foundational works of French literature.…
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
from 1742 to 1776
7 moments here
Genevan philosopher, writer, composer, and a major figure of the European Enlightenment. Rousseau’s documented movements ranged across Geneva, Savoy,…
John Adams
in 1783
1 moment here
American lawyer, revolutionary leader, diplomat, first vice president of the United States, and second U.S. president.…
John Quincy Adams
in 1815
1 moment here
John Quincy Adams was an American diplomat, secretary of state, sixth president of the United States, and Massachusetts representative.…
Joséphine de Beauharnais
from 1779 to 1814
23 moments here
Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, known as Joséphine, was Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife and Empress of the French from 1804 until the…
Michael Faraday
in 1813
1 moment here
English chemist and physicist whose experimental work transformed the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.…
Montesquieu
from 1709 to 1755
8 moments here
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, was a French jurist, historian, and political philosopher.…
Napoleon Bonaparte
from 1799 to 1815
5 moments here
French military commander and statesman who rose during the French Revolution, became First Consul in 1799, and ruled as Emperor of the French in…
Peter the Great
in 1717
1 moment here
Peter I of Russia, known as Peter the Great, was tsar from 1682 and emperor from 1721 until 1725.…
Simón Bolívar
from 1802 to 1806
3 moments here
Venezuelan military and political leader known as El Libertador. Bolívar led revolutionary campaigns that helped secure the independence of…
Thomas Jefferson
from 1784 to 1789
2 moments here
Thomas Jefferson was an American lawyer, Virginia political leader, diplomat, secretary of state, vice president, and third president of the United…
Voltaire
from 1694 to 1778
10 moments here
François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, dramatist, and philosopher.…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
from 1763 to 1778
3 moments here
Austrian composer and performer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart toured Europe as a child prodigy, made three formative journeys to…
Moments
- 1693 Moved in with the d'Hervart family Jean de La Fontaine
- 1694 Born in Paris Voltaire
- 1695 Death at the Hôtel d'Hervart Jean de La Fontaine
- 1704 Studies at Louis-le-Grand Voltaire
- 1709 Scholarly residence in Paris Montesquieu
- 1717 Diplomatic and scholarly visits in Paris Peter the Great
- 1717 First Bastille imprisonment Voltaire
- 1726 Second Bastille imprisonment Voltaire
- 1726 Move to Paris after sale of office Montesquieu
- 1727 Letter from Paris Montesquieu
- 1728 Departure for Vienna Montesquieu
- 1734 Residence in Paris while preparing later work Montesquieu
- 1738 Botanical visit in Paris Carl Linnaeus
- 1739 Letter from Paris to Niccolini Montesquieu
- 1742 Presentation to the Académie des Sciences Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1744 Visits Paris and begins relationship with Denis Voltaire
- 1745 Return to Paris and relationship with Thérèse Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1749 Visits to Diderot at Vincennes Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1749 Returns briefly to Paris after du Châtelet’s death Voltaire
- 1754 Final visit to Paris Montesquieu
- 1755 Death in Paris Montesquieu
- 1759 Residence at Château de Montmorency Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1763 Embassy service in Paris David Hume
- 1763 Arrives in Paris Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 First arrival in Paris Adam Smith
- 1765 Chargé d’affaires in Paris David Hume
- 1765 Paris stay with the Prince of Conti Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1766 Second Paris residence and intellectual meetings Adam Smith
- 1766 Returns to Paris Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1767 Visit to Paris Benjamin Franklin
- 1770 Final Paris residence on Rue Platrière Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1776 Carriage accident in Paris Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1776 American commissioner in Passy Benjamin Franklin
- 1778 Lives at Chaussée-d'Antin in Paris Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1778 Treaties with France Benjamin Franklin
- 1778 Returns to Paris after twenty-five years Voltaire
- 1778 Attends a performance of Irène Voltaire
- 1778 Initiated at Les Neuf Sœurs Voltaire
- 1778 Dies in Paris Voltaire
- 1779 Marriage to Alexandre de Beauharnais Joséphine de Beauharnais
- 1783 Hydrogen-balloon flight witness Benjamin Franklin
- 1783 Signed Treaty of Paris John Adams
- 1783 Residence at Pentemont Abbey Joséphine de Beauharnais
- 1783 Manned balloon launch Benjamin Franklin
- 1784 Meeting with Mirabeau Benjamin Franklin
- 1784 Arrival as diplomat in Paris Thomas Jefferson
- 1786 Chlorine experiment in Paris James Watt
- 1787 Arrival in Paris after Fontainebleau Joséphine de Beauharnais
- 1789 Present in Paris during Bastille storming Thomas Jefferson
- 1791 Establishment in Paris Joséphine de Beauharnais