  John Buridan was born sometime before 1300 at or near the town of Béthune in Picardy, France. He was educated in Paris, first at the Collège Lemoine, where he was awarded a benefice or stipend for needy students, and then at the University of Paris, where he received his Master of Arts degree and formal license to teach by the mid-1320s. He enjoyed a long and illustrious career as an arts master at Paris, serving twice (in 1328 and 1340) as university rector and supporting himself with numerous benefices. He last appears alive and well in a document of 1358, which mentions him adjudicating a territorial dispute between the English and Picard nations (the Parisian student body at the time was organized according to one's place of origin). He must have died shortly thereafter because in 1361, one of his benefices was awarded to another  person.[1]