Johannes Gensfleisch Gutenberg
German printer, regarded as the inventor of printing
- Born in Mainz, Germany (c. 1400-1468)
- Gutenberg's first occupation was more likely than not working as a goldsmith in Mainz
- After his family was exiled in 1428, Gutenberg established himself in Strassburg, where he began his experiments with printing
- Gutenberg's method of printing used uniform letters which were cast on metal bodies
- Probably began officially working in the printing industry in c. 1448 with Johann Fust as the main financier
- After a disagreement over money, Fust became a partner in the business
- By 1452 Gutenberg had already begun to work with moveable type
- In 1455 the partnership between Gutenberg and Fust disovlved due to money issues
- Due to a court settlement Fust acquired all of Gutenberg's materials and tools
- Around the time of the split a 42-line Bible, known as the Gutenberg Bible or the Mazrin Bible, was printed
- When the first copies were released Gutenberg was no longer a partner in the printing business
- After Gutenberg began again from scratch in the printing industry, it is believed that he created the 36-line Bible
- The Catholican, a type of encyclopedia, is also attributed to Gutenberg
- No direct evidence linking the printer's name, place or date to Gutenberg has been discovered
- Gutenberg is buried in a Fransiscan convent in his hometown
- The Gutenberg Museum and Library was built in Mainz and opened in 1900
- Objects relating to the moving type printing press can be found in the museum
- 47 printed copies of the Gutenberg Bible are still in existence with 13 of them being held in the United States
Reference List
_Encyclopedia of World Biography_ (1998), s.v. "Johann Gutenberg."
_Larousse Biographical Dictionary_ (1994), s.v. "Gutenberg, Johannes Gensfleisch."
_The World Book Encyclopedia_ (2004), s.v. "Gutenberg, Johannes."
_Encyclopedia Americana_ (2004), s.v. "Johann Gutenberg."
_The St. Martin's Press Dictionary of Biography_ (1986), s.v. "Gutenberg, Johann."
_The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia_ (1998), s.v. "Gutenberg, Johannes Gensfleisch."