Google pays tribute to French playwright, actor and poet Molière; often adjudged as one of the greatest |

Widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in French language & universal literature, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, popularly known by his stage name Molière, passed away on this day in 1673. Google pays tribute.

Popularly known by his stage name Molière, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin was a French playwright, actor and poet who passed away this day in 1673. Born to Jean Poquelin and Marie Cressé, the daughter of a prosperous bourgeois family, on January 15, 1622, Molière's work included comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comédie-ballets, and more. His work has been translated and adapted in almost all the major languages. 

Molière's father was a successful furniture maker but he refused to join the family business and instead joined theatre in the 1640s. After living through a financial crisis, Molière breakthrough came in 1658 when he and his company performed for a royal audience at the Louvre. Molière's writing and play often the authorities and they tried to censor his work. Tartuffe, a satirical take on religion, was instantly banned by King Louis XIV's court. The ban, however, was lifted five years later and Tartuffe went on to be considered as a masterpiece. 

In the preface of Tartuffe, he had written, "The duty of comedy is to correct men by amusing them."