French playwright, actor and theatre manager of the seventeenth century, author of comedies that mock the failings of his contemporaries. He wrote "Tartuffe", "The Misanthrope", "The Miser" and "The Rogueries of Scapin", still staged today.
Molière, born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, was baptised in Paris in 1622, the son of an upholsterer to the king. After a Jesuit education and some legal studies, he gave up his claim to his father's post and in 1643 founded the Illustre Théâtre with the Béjart family. The company went bankrupt, and he spent nearly thirteen years touring the provinces.
Back in Paris in 1658, he won the protection of Louis XIV. Actor, manager and playwright, he wrote comedies that mock the failings of his contemporaries: “The Affected Young Ladies” (1659), “The School for Wives” (1662), “Tartuffe” (1664), banned for five years, “Don Juan” (1665), “The Misanthrope” (1666), “The Miser” (1668), “The Bourgeois Gentleman” (1670) and “The Rogueries of Scapin” (1671).
In 1673 he was taken ill on stage during the fourth performance of “The Imaginary Invalid” and died at home a few hours later. His company later became part of the Comédie-Française, where his plays are still performed.
