Doctor Johann Georg Faust (c. 1466 - c.1540), better known as Doctor Faustus, was born in Knittlingen, Helmstadt, or Roda, all cities in southern Germany. Helmstadt appears to be the most likely place, as he used von Haidlberg (Heidelberg is a major city near Helmstadt), Helmstetensis, and Helmstetter as last names during his student years. He went to school at the University of Heidelberg, where he became a Master of Arts on March 1, 1487.
The first appearance of Faust as a magician was in 1506, when he appeared as a stage magician and astrologer in Geinhausen. There are many records of him over the next 30 years. Faust was banned from several towns due to various offences and was denounced by the church as a blasphemer who made deals with the devil. Around 1540, while in Staufem im Breisgau, his body was found after an explosion in the "Hotel zum Lowen", "grievously mutilated". This was interpreted by his opponents as meaning that the devil had come to collect in person.
Faust has become reknowned for his deal with the devil, and today the phrase "Faustian bargain" has come to refer to the same situation. Plays such as Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and Goethe's Faust have made the legend so famous that today the historical man is almost overshadowed by them.
