Voltaire's words (as author), but who was the character that "spoke" them, often?

Bonus points: Who was the character based on?

Wasn't Voltaire, but Gottfried Leibniz. He was the philosopher who used the term in his work "theodicy".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy

Ah, but you see, he wasn't making his remarks candide-ly!

I know I should groan, but I'll just instead.

Just to be clear, Gottfried Leibniz is the "inspiration", but the character being referred to is only modeled after him.

That was just too easy to find once I knew the previous information, but I do admit that I had to google it:

"Voltaire satirized Leibniz's idea in the novel Candide through the character of Dr. Pangloss, who often uses the phrase "best of all possible worlds" and remains humorously optimistic even after enduring numerous hardships."

And there's even the name of the novel given in your question... Sneaky!

Well, that was the whole point. (I was actually expecting someone to wrongfully guess that it was Candide instead of Pangloss, but you were too smart -- or your Search engine was, to make that mistake.)

Over to you.

Name the historical figure?

- He was the seventh and the last child of a modest family
- Assumed his mother's name when he started his career
- Hero of numerous (fictionalised) novels and movies
- Has five statues erected in his honour

More hints:

- Lived his entire life in the 17th century
- Was once a governor of a city, but was considered bad at the job and yearned back to the battlefield
- Was one of the most loyal followers of Cardinal Mazarin

D'artagnan, 'friend' of the Three Musketeers?

Yes! Precisely!

Except that the part about the three musketeers is fiction.

Once again, the French wiki page is far better source for historical knowledge than the English one:
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_ur ... =Translate

Your turn!

Who am I?

- I have 3 statues of me in London, Brussels and Southsea.
- I am homophobic, but that might be repressed homosexuality.
- Fought in 4 wars, but only famous for one of them.
- My father was a clergyman.
- I had a school named after me in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery?

Indeed it is Monty!

Your turn.

Who am I...

I was the son of an Irish Criminal who was sent to Australia
I myself had numerous run-ins with the law.
I have been the subject of numerous movies and stories.
I have quite a large statue in the town where I was finally captured by police.