Jean-Baptiste Molière

Molière is regarded among the most important comedy writers in the world. To quote Encyclopædia Britannica: "Comedy had a long history before Molière, who employed most of its traditional forms, but he succeeded in inventing a new style that was based on a double vision of normal and abnormal seen in relation to each other - the comedy of the true opposed to the specious, the intelligent seen alongside the pedantic."

As Jean-Baptiste Poquelin he got an expensive education, paid for by his father, who worked for the French royal court. He broke with his father in 1643, to pursue a career in the theatre, and his stage name, Molière, is first found in a document dated June 28, 1644. It is unknown when he started writing for the theatre.

The play The Imaginary Invalid became Molière's last. It had its world premiere in 1673, and in its first production, the playwright acted in the role of the hypochondriac Argan. He collapsed onstage February 17, during his fourth public performance of the role, and died in his home shortly later.

SOURCE:

Encyclopædia Britannica, http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/388302/Moliere