Molière

Molière was the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, born in Paris in 1622, the son of a prosperous upholsterer who served the royal household. He was educated at the Jesuit Collège de Clermont and studied law, but in 1643 he gave up his father's position and helped found a theater company, the Illustre Théâtre, with the actress Madeleine Béjart. The company soon went bankrupt, and he was briefly jailed for debt. He then spent many years touring the French provinces with a traveling troupe, writing and acting in comedies. In 1658 the company performed before King Louis XIV, who gave them his support and a theater in Paris. Molière's comedies, including The School for Wives, Tartuffe, Don Juan, The Misanthrope, The Miser and The Imaginary Invalid, mock hypocrisy, greed, pretension and the follies of doctors and society. Tartuffe, about a religious hypocrite, offended church authorities and was banned for several years. In 1673, while playing the title role in The Imaginary Invalid, he was taken ill on stage, and he died in Paris a few hours later.

Molière is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: Faith not well documented; the Catholic Church in France denounced his play Tartuffe. Source: Wikipedia