Jean-Nicolas Bouilly (24 January 1763 – 14 April 1842) was a French playwright,
librettist,
children's writer, and politician of the
French Revolution. He is best known for writing a libretto, supposedly based on a true story, about a woman who disguises herself as a man to rescue her husband from prison, which formed the basis of
Beethoven's opera
Fidelio as well as a number of other operas.