PHILOSOPHER

Montesquieu

1689 - 1755

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Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal source of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He is also known for doing more than any other author to secure the place of the word despotism in the political lexicon. His anonymously published The Spirit of Law (1748), which was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States in drafting the U.S. Constitution. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Montesquieu is the 25th most popular philosopher (down from 21st in 2019), the 13th most popular biography from France (down from 12th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular French Philosopher.

Montesquieu is most famous for his work "The Spirit of the Laws," which is considered to be one of the most influential works in the history of political philosophy.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Montesquieu ranks 25 out of 1,267. Before him are Thomas Aquinas, Diogenes, Erasmus, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, John Locke, and Arthur Schopenhauer. After him are Democritus, Seneca the Younger, Epicurus, Averroes, Al-Ghazali, and Thomas Hobbes.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1689, Montesquieu ranks 1. After him are John V of Portugal, Samuel Richardson, Jacques I, Prince of Monaco, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Zahir al-Umar, Samuel Bellamy, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, Blas de Lezo, Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, and Alexis Piron. Among people deceased in 1755, Montesquieu ranks 1. After him are Johann Georg Pisendel, Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Francesco Durante, Johann Georg Gmelin, Gerard Majella, Princess Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach, Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Johann Georg Christian, Prince of Lobkowicz, and Zhang Tingyu.

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In France

Among people born in France, Montesquieu ranks 13 out of 6,770. Before him are Victor Hugo (1802), Voltaire (1694), Louis Pasteur (1822), Claude Monet (1840), Jules Verne (1828), and Molière (1622). After him are Maximilien Robespierre (1758), Jean-Paul Sartre (1905), Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807), Louis XV of France (1710), Edward IV of England (1442), and Alexandre Dumas (1802).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In France

Among philosophers born in France, Montesquieu ranks 2. Before him are René Descartes (1596). After him are Auguste Comte (1798), Michel de Montaigne (1533), Michel Foucault (1926), Henri Bergson (1859), Peter Abelard (1079), Roland Barthes (1915), Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809), Jean Bodin (1530), Gilles Deleuze (1925), and Henri de Saint-Simon (1760).

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