<b>The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas</b>&nbsp;was an unidentified prisoner who was arrested in 1669 or 1670 and subsequently held in a number of&nbsp;French&nbsp;prisons, including the&nbsp;Bastille&nbsp;and the Fortress of Pignerol (modern&nbsp;Pinerolo, Italy).<br /><br />Known for remaining unidentified due to the veil worn over his face throughout his time in prison, he was held in the custody of the same jailer,&nbsp;B&eacute;nigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars, for a period of 34 years. He died on 19 November 1703 under the name Marchioly, during the reign of King&nbsp;Louis XIV of France&nbsp;(1643&ndash;1715).<br />No one is known to have seen his face, as it was hidden by a mask of black velvet cloth, later misreported by&nbsp;Voltaire&nbsp;as an iron mask, and the true identity of the prisoner remains a mystery. His identity has been extensively debated by historians, and various theories have been expounded in numerous books and films.<br /><br />Among the leading theories is one proposed by the writer and philosopher Voltaire, who claimed in the second edition of his&nbsp;<i>Questions sur l&#39;Encyclop&eacute;die</i>&nbsp;(1771) that the prisoner wore a mask made of iron rather than of cloth, and that he was the older, illegitimate brother of Louis XIV.<br /><br />What little is known about the historical Man in the Iron Mask is based mainly on correspondence between&nbsp;Saint-Mars&nbsp;and his superiors in Paris. Recent research suggests that his name was&nbsp;Eustache Dauger, a man who was involved in several political scandals of the late 17th century, but this assertion has not been proven.