Editing Book burning (section)

=== Burning of Voltaire's books (18th century CE) ===

During the 18th century, the works of French philosopher and writer [[Voltaire]] were repeatedly burned by government officials in the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of France|France]] and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]. In 1734, the publication of his ''[[Letters on the English|Lettres philosophiques]]'' in the city of [[Rouen]] led to a public outcry, as it was seen as an attack against the ''[[ancien régime]]'' of France. In response, the French authorities ordered copies of book to be publicly confiscated and burnt, and Voltaire was forced to flee [[Paris]]. In 1751, King of Prussia [[Frederick the Great]] ordered a pamphlet written by Voltaire titled ''[[Doctor Akakia]]'' to be publicly burnt as it insulted [[Pierre Louis Maupertuis]], the president of the [[Prussian Academy of Sciences]] in [[Berlin]], of whom Frederick was a significant patron.<ref> {{Cite book |last=Pearson |first=Roger |url=https://archive.org/details/voltairealmighty00pear |title=Voltaire Almighty: A Life in Pursuit of Freedom |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-58234-630-4 |author-link=Roger Pearson (literary scholar)}} </ref>