Étienne_Noël_Damilaville
Étienne Noël Damilaville
French man of letters and friend of Voltaire, Diderot and d'Alembert
Étienne Noël Damilaville (21 November 1723 – 13 December 1768) was an 18th-century French man of letters, friend of Voltaire, Diderot and d'Alembert.[1] He served in various military and administrative functions of the Ancien Régime.[2] He was a member of the bodyguard of King Louis XV, and then a senior civil servant in the tax office responsible for supervising the Vingtième. His official roles meant that his correspondence was unexamined by censors, enabling him to circulate letters between leading thinkers of the day,[3] most particularly during the Sirven affair.