Pierre Bayle, French philosopher and author (b. 1647)
Pierre Bayle (French: [bɛl]; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his Historical and Critical Dictionary, whose publication began in 1697. Bayle was a notable advocate of religious toleration, and his skeptical philosophy had a significant influence on the subsequent growth and development of the European Age of Enlightenment. Bayle is commonly regarded as a forerunner of the Encyclopédistes of the mid-18th century.