Molière and La Fontaine both rest in the same Division of Père-Lachaise. Why were their remains moved there in 1817, so long after their deaths?
The answer
In 1817, the prefect Nicolas Frochot had the presumed remains of Molière and La Fontaine moved to Père-Lachaise, a cemetery that had only just opened and that Parisians had largely ignored. The move worked: the great families now wanted to rest near celebrities, and the cemetery became one of the most sought-after in Paris.
This question belongs to the “Famous Figures” series of the Père-Lachaise quiz: ten questions, a story behind every right answer.