marquis de Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat Condorcet

Born in 1743, the Marquis de Condorcet was a French mathematician, philosopher, and public writer whose work moved easily between science and politics. He became known for important early ideas in probability and voting theory, and he was part of the wider Enlightenment world that believed human affairs could be studied with the same seriousness as nature.

Condorcet also stood out as a reformer. He supported public education, constitutional government, freedom of thought, and the extension of rights to women and to people of all races. During the French Revolution he took an active political role, but his moderate positions and independent mind left him vulnerable as the revolution grew more violent.

While in hiding, he wrote his best-known book, Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind, a hopeful work arguing that human knowledge and liberty could continue to grow. He died in 1794, but his faith in reason, justice, and human progress has made him one of the most memorable voices of the late Enlightenment.