Jacques Maritain was born in Paris in 1882 and studied at the Sorbonne, where he met his future wife, Raissa; both entered the Catholic Church under the influence of Leon Bloy in 1906. He became professor at the Institut Catholique de Paris in 1914, and in 1948 he was appointed professor of philosophy at Princeton University. He also taught at the Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto, the University of Chicago, and the University of Notre Dame. After World War II, he accepted the post of French ambassador to the Vatican, and headed the French delegation to UNESCO.