Voltaire Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his "nom de plume" Voltaire (; ), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity, especially the Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile and prolific 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 civil liberties, despite
Jean-Thomas Taschereau (1778–1832) followed and in 1821 he was appointed as a judge in Sainte-Marie. He held increasingly important judicial positions including the Court of Kings Bench for the district of Quebec until his death. He married Marie Panet May 19, 1806, and had at least two sons, Jean-Thomas Taschereau and Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, the first Canadian cardinal. He was the grandfather of Louis-Alexandre Taschereau and Edward Routh, and the great-grandfather of Robert Taschereau. He and his brother Thomas-Pierre-Joseph Taschereau were involved with the development of the paternal seigniory of Sainte-Marie-de-la-Nouvelle-Beauce (now Sainte-Marie). Jean-Thomas Taschereau (1778–1832) Jean-Thomas Taschereau (November 26, 1778 – June 14,