Michel de Montaigne

Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne, was born 28 February 1533 and spent his lifetime better known as a statesman than a writer. His Essais - merging casual anecdote and autobiography with intellectual insight - were criticized in his era for digressing too freely, for putting the self at the center in ways that seemed improper. But the work outlasted the objections. Montaigne became recognized as embodying the critical thought and open inquiry emerging in his time, philosopher of doubt captured in his sceptical question: "Que sçay-je?" - What do I know? He died 13 September 1592, leaving some of the most influential essays ever written and a literary genre he'd popularized into permanence.