Didier Diderot (14 September 1685 in Langres – 3 June 1759 ibid) was a French craftsman and the father of the

encyclopedist An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

, author, philosopher of enlightenment

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the '' Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promi ...

Biography

Didier Diderot descended from families of local craftsmen from the city of

Langres Langres () is a commune in northeastern France. It is a subprefecture of the department of Haute-Marne, in the region of Grand Est. History As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe known as the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then ...

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

. His father, Denis Diderot (1654–1726), senior, was a master craftsman, or rather a

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidence ...

forgemaster, ''maître coutelier'', and his mother was Nicole Beligné (1655–1692). On 20 June 1679 both had married. Nicole Beligné was born on 1655 as the daughter of a wealthy artisan family. Her father was François Beligné (1625–1697) who was also knife

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

, her mother was Catherine Grassot. From his father-in-law Beligné Denis Diderot adopted the labeling of their own products: a pearl, ''la perle''. Didier (compare also Desiderius of Langres) had five brothers - Didier was the second son - and one sister; by order of birth year, the Diderot children are as follows: Antoine Thomas (1682–1755); Didier (1685-1769); Claude (1687–1689); François (born 1688); Felix (born 1689); Catherine Diderot (born 1690). Didier Diderot married on 19 January 1712 in Chassigny Angélique Vigneron (12 October 1677 – 1 October 1748). She was the daughter of the tanner, ''tanneur'' François Vigneron (died in 1679) and Jeanne Aramite Humblot (died in 1710) from Langres. Didier Diderot was close to the

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

. Later they had three sons and four daughters, one son died shortly after his birth in 1712, followed by Denis (1713–1784) and Didier-Pierre (1722–1787), the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of Langres, ''Langres chanoine écrivain'' (see also

Roman Catholic Diocese of Langres The Roman Catholic Diocese of Langres (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lingonensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Langres'') is a Roman Catholic diocese comprising the ''département'' of Haute-Marne in France. The diocese is now a suffragan in ecclesiastical pr ...

) and the sisters Denise (1715–1797), Catherine (1716–1718), Catherine (born 1719) and Angélique Diderot (born 1720). Angélique Diderot joined the

ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they ...

N° 9 de la place dans le centre ville de Langres

The family lived around the year 1713 in the center of Langres, ''Place Chambeau'' today the ''n ° 9 de la place dans le center ville de Langres'', a place that now bears the name of Denis Diderot. Didier Diderot was a specialist in the manufacture of medical and surgical cutting instruments, and his lancets were sought after by teaching doctors.DIDEROT THE TESTING YEARS, 1713-1759, By ARTHUR M. WILSON, NEW YORK OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1957

Selected writing

* Diderot, Didier; Marcel, Louis: ''Une lettre du père de Diderot à son fils, détenu à Vincennes (3 septembre 1749).'' J. Bière, Bordeaux, (1928)

References

External links

Souviron, Marie: Diderot, Langres et la religion. Recherches sur Diderot et sur l'Encyclopédie Année 1988 Volume 4 Numéro 4 S. 7-36 online

''Diderot à Langres.'' Villes et Pays d’art et d’histoire Langres Villes et Pays d’art et d’histoire Langres.

Pierre BÉLIGNÉ coutelier du Roi à Langres

Portrait of Denise Diderot (1715–1797) Musee du Breuil-de-St.-Germain (France)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diderot, Didier French blacksmiths 1685 births 1759 deaths People from Langres Denis Diderot French male writers

Biography

Selected writing

Further reading

References

External links