WRITER

Jean de La Fontaine

1621 - 1695

Photo of Jean de La Fontaine

Icon of person Jean de La Fontaine

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 French Academy and his reputation in France has never faded since. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Jean de La Fontaine has received more than 952,399 page views. His biography is available in 83 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 80 in 2019). Jean de La Fontaine is the 112th most popular writer (down from 92nd in 2019), the 113th most popular biography from France (down from 93rd in 2019) and the 24th most popular French Writer.

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

Memorability Metrics

  • 950k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 76.54

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 83

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.96

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.43

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 112 out of 7,302. Before him are André Gide, Stephen King, Maurice Maeterlinck, August Strindberg, Haruki Murakami, and Apuleius. After him are George Bernard Shaw, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Sully Prudhomme, Federico García Lorca, Anatole France, and Jean Cocteau.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1621, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 1. After him are Louis, Grand Condé, Amakusa Shirō, George II Rákóczi, Thomas Willis, Petar Zrinski, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, Allaert van Everdingen, Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, Isaac van Ostade, and Shi Lang. Among people deceased in 1695, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 2. Before 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, Zumbi, Thomas Tew, François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, and Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł.

Others Born in 1621

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Others Deceased in 1695

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In France

Among people born in France, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 113 out of 6,770. Before him are Henry II of France (1519), Georges Danton (1759), Philippe Pétain (1856), Charles Aznavour (1924), Maurice Ravel (1875), and Bernard of Clairvaux (1090). After him are Hector Berlioz (1803), Marie Thérèse of France (1778), Charles VII of France (1403), Sully Prudhomme (1839), Charles VIII of France (1470), and Roman Polanski (1933).

Others born in France

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Among WRITERS In France

Among writers born in France, Jean de La Fontaine ranks 24. Before him are Charles Perrault (1628), Arthur Rimbaud (1854), François Rabelais (1494), George Sand (1804), Marquis de Sade (1740), and André Gide (1869). After him are Sully Prudhomme (1839), Anatole France (1844), Jean Cocteau (1889), Guy de Maupassant (1850), Paul Verlaine (1844), and François Villon (1431).

French born Writers

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