Voltaire

About Voltaire

Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778), was a towering figure of the French Enlightenment whose prolific output as a writer, historian, and philosopher profoundly shaped modern thought. His advocacy for civil liberties, including freedom of religion and freedom of expression, placed him as a powerful critic of both the Catholic Church and the French absolute monarchy. This enduring influence is reflected in his high placement at #129 on MIT's Historical Popularity Index, signifying massive long-term global cultural impact.

Despite this significant historical standing, Voltaire's modern internet attention appears relatively modest. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accrued 1.1 million views, resulting in an Attention Gap of approximately 1x, suggesting his online viewership roughly matches his importance ranking. For contrast, the contemporary writer George R. R. Martin, ranked #711 in importance, garnered 1.7 million views, while Charles Dickens (#404 importance) drew 2.1 million views. Furthermore, modern political figures like Joe Biden (#329 importance) commanded 10.6 million views, highlighting a gap between historical influence and current digital traffic.

Voltaire’s 2025 momentum showed a slight positive trend, with a +9% increase between Q1 and Q3, suggesting a small surge in recent online interest, although his year-over-year change was nearly flat at -0.1%.