13 moments

1. Birth at Château-Thierry

   1621-07-08 · Château-Thierry, Aisne, France

   

   La Fontaine was born in Château-Thierry, the town where he spent his earliest years and where his family home later became the Musée Jean-de-La-Fontaine. Coordinates represent the historic center and vicinity of La Fontaine's birthplace in Château-Thierry.

2. Studies at a Paris collège

   1635-01-01 · Paris, France

   The biographical chronology places the completion of La Fontaine's schooling at a Paris collège around 1635, before his short clerical formation. The year and the particular Paris collège are approximate in the source; coordinates represent Paris.

3. Entered the Oratory

   1641-04-27 · Oratory of Jesus, Paris, France

   

   La Fontaine entered the mother house of the Oratory in Paris as he pursued a prospective ecclesiastical vocation. Coordinates mark the historic Oratory precinct in central Paris; the seventeenth-century institutional site has changed.

4. Transferred to Saint-Magloire for theology

   1641-10-28 · Maison Saint-Magloire, Paris, France

   Oratorian registers record La Fontaine's transfer to Saint-Magloire in Paris for theological study. Coordinates represent the documented Saint-Magloire site near the modern rue de l'Abbé-de-l'Épée and rue Henri-Barbusse.

5. Returned to Château-Thierry

   1643-01-01 · Château-Thierry, Aisne, France

   

   After about eighteen months in the Oratory, La Fontaine left the institution and returned to his native Château-Thierry. The source supports the year but not a more precise return date.

6. Marriage contract at La Ferté-Milon

   1647-11-10 · La Ferté-Milon, Aisne, France

   La Fontaine and Marie Héricart signed their marriage contract at La Ferté-Milon. Coordinates represent the town center; the notary's exact seventeenth-century office location is not established here.

7. Fête de Vaux and first performance of Les Fâcheux

   1661-08-17 · Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, Maincy, Seine-et-Marne, France

   

   La Fontaine attended Nicolas Fouquet's fête at Vaux, where Molière's Les Fâcheux was first performed; the event was an important moment in La Fontaine's association with Fouquet's literary circle.

8. Journey accompanying Jacques Jannart into exile

   1663-01-01 · Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France

   

   La Fontaine accompanied his wife's uncle Jacques Jannart when Jannart was sent into exile at Limoges, producing the basis for his later Relation d'un voyage de Paris en Limousin. The source establishes the 1663 journey and destination but not an arrival date within that year; coordinates represent Limoges.

9. Installed at Luxembourg Palace

   1664-01-01 · Luxembourg Palace, Paris, France

   

   As gentleman to the duchess dowager of Orléans, La Fontaine was installed at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. The source supports the year but not a more precise installation date.

10. Residence with Madame de La Sablière

    1673-01-01 · Hôtel de Madame de La Sablière, rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, Paris, France

    After losing his court employment, La Fontaine was received by Madame de La Sablière and lived in her household for roughly two decades; her Paris residence was on rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs. The source dates his reception to the year after the duchess dowager's death in 1672; coordinates are a representative point on the historic rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs.

11. Reception into the Académie française

    1684-05-02 · Académie française, Louvre Palace, Paris, France

    

    La Fontaine was formally received into the Académie française, taking the seat formerly held by Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Académie meetings were held at the Louvre from 1672 to 1805; coordinates mark the Louvre Palace.

12. Moved in with the d'Hervart family

    1693-01-01 · Hôtel d'Hervart, rue Plâtrière, Paris, France

    

    Following Madame de La Sablière's death, La Fontaine moved into the household of the d'Hervart family, his final residence. The historic hôtel stood on rue Plâtrière, now rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau; coordinates are representative because the original building no longer survives.

13. Death at the Hôtel d'Hervart

    1695-04-13 · Hôtel d'Hervart, rue Plâtrière, Paris, France

    

    La Fontaine died at the d'Hervart residence on rue Plâtrière in Paris. The Saint-Eustache parish record subsequently recorded his death and burial. The historic street is now rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau; coordinates are representative of the former Hôtel d'Hervart site.