Diderot
Diderots main achievement was basically informing the people. He invented the encyclopedia, a set of 28 books that he himself compiled. He made these books with the sole purpose of "changing the general way of thinking". He wanted to explain diverse subjects which where the most discussed problems. He wrote about philosophy, government, and religion. He wrote basic information on each of these topics, things he thought everyone should know. Also, he included articles about expert on these topics. For example: Montesquieu and Voltaire wrote about philosophy and their view on things. They proclaimed the absurdity of slavery, praised freedom of speech, and encouraged everyone to get some sort of eduction. They also attacked an idea they thought was ridiculous the divine right. They said that god would never put one person in charge of misleading a whole kingdom, and believed the power should be shared between different people. Meanwhile, the French government said that this new book was an attack on morals and went against god. Therefore, the Pope decided to excommunicate any church that used this book. The Encyclopedia became one of the most popular books/inventions still used today, and when translated into different languages it helped cause the American and French Revolutions. Between 1751 and 1789, more than 4000 copies of the book were made, sent across Europe and the Atlantic Ocean.