Diderot's Encyclopédie

In short

Denis Diderot and the mathematician Jean d'Alembert decided to gather all the knowledge of their time in a single work. The first volume of the Encyclopédie came out in Paris in 1751, and in about twenty years it reached 17 volumes of text and 11 of illustrated plates. More than a hundred authors wrote for it, and many entries explained trades and machines, from the blacksmith to the weaver. The authorities disliked some of its ideas and for a time banned its publication.

Why it matters It showed that knowledge could be organised and made available to many people, as online encyclopaedias do today.

Source: Treccani, entry “Encyclopédie”

Where we are in the era “Age of revolutions”

Your turn

Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________

1. When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:

2. Tell it in your own words: what happened?

3. Draw the scene below.

storiascopio.com/en/event/diderot-s-encyclopedie/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class