Encyclopedia: Denis Diderot's greatest accomplishment was the publication of the first encyclopedia. In January 1746 André François le Breton and his partners (including Diderot) were granted permission to publish a ten-volume encyclopedia, Diderot was named general editor of the project. For more than twenty-six years Diderot devoted the majority of his time to the writing, editing, and publishing of the Encyclopedia. Diderot wanted his work "to assemble the knowledge scattered over the face of the earth; to explain its general plan to the men with whom we live … so that we may not die without having deserved well of the human race." this was the plan and the purpose of creating the Encyclopedia. In 1751 the first volume of the encyclopedia was published. In January 1752 the second volume was ready, but the opinion of critics forced a temporary suspension. The Publication was soon started again and continued at the rate of one volume a year until 1759, when the Royal Council banned further volumes. Diderot , however, continued to write and publish the encyclopedia secretly until In 1772 the completed work was published.
Impact:
The encyclopedia helped share information with the rest of the world.