Born in Geneva, Rousseau spent the early years of his adult life traveling in poverty, before educating himself and traveling to Paris. Increasingly turning from music to writing, Rousseau formed an association with Diderot and wrote for the Encyclopédie, before winning a prestigious award which pushed him firmly onto the Enlightenment scene. However, he fell out with Diderot and Voltaire and turned away from them in later works. On one occasion Rousseau managed to alienate the major religions, forcing him to flee France. His Du Contrat Social became a major influence during the French Revolution and he has been called a major influence on Romanticism.
