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Events on Saturday 31 July 1784 1
1713 – 1784Denis Diderot (1713-1784)Died 31 July 1784, aged 70Denis Diderot, co-founder and chief editor of the Encyclopedie, died in Paris. His great compendium of Enlightenment knowledge, compiled over two decades, challenged religious and political authority through its scope and rationalist outlook. He also wrote influential works of fiction and art criticism, including Jacques the Fatalist and Rameau's Nephew.