The Marquis de Sade

The Marquis de Sade was born in Paris in 1740. He was imprisoned several times for his scandalous behaviour, and wrote The 120 Days of Sodom, his most notorious work, while in prison in the Bastille. He managed to ingratiate himself with the new regime after the French Revolution, but by 1796 was a ruined man. He died in an insane asylum in 1814.