Jean de La Fontaine (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 best known 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. Evidence of his lasting influence is found in many pictures and statues of the writer, as well as depictions on medals, coins, and postage stamps.

Jean de La Fontaine was part of a renowned French literary group, which included the famous playwrights Molière and Racine, along with the critic and poet Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux. His literary fame resides in his Cuentos y relatos en verso (Tales and Stories in Verse, 1644), which was included in the Church's Index of Prohibited Books from 1703 until its last edition in 1948.