Biography of Montesquieu

Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (1689-1755) “was a French judge, man of letters, 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 in 1748, which was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, influenced the Founding Fathers in drafting the United States Constitution.

According to one political scientist, he was the most frequently quoted authority on government and politics in colonial pre-revolutionary British America, cited more by the American founders than any source except for the Bible.”

He also admitted to committing literary mystification.

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1689 – He is born at the Château de la Brède in southwest France

1700-1711 – He stays at the Catholic College of Juilly.

1714 – He becomes a counselor of the Bordeaux Parliament.

1715 – He marries the Protestant Jeanne de Lartigue.

1715 – He begins publishing his Gleanings.

1716 – He publishes his System of Ideas.

1720 – He publishes a French translation of a Greek poem resembling Sappho. Later he admits that this was a mystification.

1721 – He publishes his Persian Letters, a satire representing society as seen through the eyes of two imaginary Persian visitors to Paris and Europe, cleverly criticizing the absurdities of contemporary French society.

c.1723-1738 – He publishes his True History, a reverie.

1725 – He publishes his The Temple of Gnidos, a prose poem.

1734 – He publishes his  Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and their Decline.

1755 – He dies from a high fever.

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References:

[1] – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montesquieu

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