WRITER

Jean de La Fontaine

1621 - 1695

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Jean de La Fontaine (UK: , US: ; French: [ʒɑ̃ d(ə) la fɔ̃tɛn]; 8 July 1621 – 13 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, as well as in French regional languages. After a long period of royal suspicion, he was admitted to the Académie Française and his reputation in France has never faded since. Evidence of this is found in the many pictures and statues of the writer, later depictions on medals, coins and postage stamps. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Jean de La Fontaine is the 130th most popular writer (down from 112th in 2019), the 135th most popular biography from France (down from 113th in 2019) and the 28th most popular French Writer.

Jean de la Fontaine is most famous for his fables, which are short stories with animal characters.

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Among WRITERS

Among writers, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 130 out of 7,302Before him are Ivo Andrić, Naguib Mahfouz, Jane Austen, Ammianus Marcellinus, Apuleius, and Sully Prudhomme. After him are Ezra Pound, François Villon, Günter Grass, Haruki Murakami, Jean Cocteau, and August Strindberg.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1621, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 1After him are Louis, Grand Condé, George II Rákóczi, Amakusa Shirō, Thomas Willis, Petar Zrinski, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Allaert van Everdingen, Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, and Isaac van Ostade. Among people deceased in 1695, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 2Before him is Christiaan Huygens. After him are Ahmed II, Henry Purcell, Juana Inés de la Cruz, Johann Ambrosius Bach, Pierre Mignard, Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, Zumbi, Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł, and Thomas Tew.

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Others Deceased in 1695

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In France

Among people born in France, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 135 out of 6,770Before him are Marie Thérèse of France (1778), François Hollande (1954), Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (1708), Sully Prudhomme (1839), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864), and Pope Benedict XII (1280). After him are Albert Schweitzer (1875), François Villon (1431), Charles VII of France (1403), Camille Saint-Saëns (1835), Hugh Capet (940), and Charles IX of France (1550).

Among WRITERS In France

Among writers born in France, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 28Before him are François Rabelais (1494), W. Somerset Maugham (1874), Marquis de Sade (1740), Anatole France (1844), André Gide (1869), and Sully Prudhomme (1839). After him are François Villon (1431), Jean Cocteau (1889), Paul Verlaine (1844), Cyrano de Bergerac (1619), Jean Racine (1639), and Nicolas Flamel (1330).