Paul Masson at Fifteen: His 1874 French School Certificate

A school certificate issued at Besançon on August 5, 1874 names “Masson Paul,” a quatrième pupil at the lycée of Lons-le-Saunier, born at Merceuil in Côte-d’Or on February 14, 1859. The combination of name, exact birth date, and Burgundy birthplace strongly identifies the pupil with the future vintner. The certificate provides an early educational milestone and strengthens the 1859 birth-date evidence; the original civil birth entry remains the preferred verification.