Evelyn Beatrice Hall

Evelyn Beatrice Hall (1868–1956), who wrote under the pseudonym 'S. G. Tallentyre,' was an English author and biographer best known for her biographical works on historical figures and her contribution to the intellectual history of ideas. Hall is perhaps most famous for being credited with the phrase 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,' which she attributed to Voltaire in her biography 'The Life of Voltaire' (1906). While the exact quote does not appear in Voltaire's works, it has become one of the most famous expressions of free speech principles and civil liberties, often quoted by philosophers, lawyers, and advocates. Hall's biography of Voltaire was a significant scholarly work that contributed to 19th and early 20th-century understanding of the Enlightenment philosopher. Beyond her work on Voltaire, Hall wrote biographies and studies of other historical figures, contributing to historical and biographical literature. Though she wrote under a male pseudonym, a common practice for female authors of her era, Hall's intellectual contributions to biographical and historical scholarship were substantial. Her inadvertent role in popularizing the phrase about free speech has given her lasting cultural resonance beyond her other biographical achievements.