Montesquieu

18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755

Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brede et de Montesquieu (1689-1755), was a French judge, man of letters, and political philosopher of the Enlightenment. His 1748 masterpiece The Spirit of the Laws articulated the theory of the separation of powers, profoundly influencing modern constitutions including that of the United States. He first won fame with the satirical Persian Letters of 1721.

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Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Montesquieu.

Life events

Born at the Chateau de La Brede near Bordeaux, France
18 January 1689

Charles-Louis de Secondat was born into a noble family at the family chateau in La Brede.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Studied at the Oratorian College de Juilly
1700 – c. 1705

From 1700 Montesquieu was educated at the College de Juilly near Paris, receiving a modern education under the Oratorians.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Studied law at the University of Bordeaux and was admitted to the bar
1708

Montesquieu earned his law degree at Bordeaux in 1708 before continuing legal studies in Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Jeanne de Lartigue
1715

In 1715 Montesquieu married Jeanne de Lartigue, a Protestant heiress who brought a substantial dowry.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Inherited the barony of Montesquieu and the office of president a mortier in the Parlement of Bordeaux
1716

On his uncle's death in 1716 he inherited the title of Baron de Montesquieu and a senior judgeship in the Bordeaux parlement.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published the Persian Letters anonymously
1721

The 1721 epistolary satire of French society, told through the eyes of two fictional Persian travelers, made Montesquieu famous.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Elected to the Academie Francaise
January 1728

Montesquieu was elected to the French Academy in January 1728.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Traveled extensively through Europe, including a long stay in England
1728 – 1731

Between 1728 and 1731 Montesquieu toured Austria, Hungary, Italy, and England, where his observation of the British constitution shaped his political thought.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Published The Spirit of the Laws
1748

Published in Geneva in 1748, the treatise set out the separation of powers and comparative analysis of governments, becoming one of the most influential works of political theory.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died in Paris
10 February 1755

Montesquieu died of a fever in Paris on 10 February 1755 and was buried in the Eglise Saint-Sulpice.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓