Johannes Gutenberg Biography

Gutenberg, Johannes
Introduction

(died 1468). Before Johannes Gutenberg developed a method of printing that used movable type, most books were written by hand. This process took a long time, andtherefore few books were produced. Gutenberg's invention contributed greatly to the spread of knowledge because it made books easy to produce. His method was so good that very few improvements weremade to it for 400 years afterward.

Life
Johannes Gutenberg was born in Mainz, Germany, toward the end of the 1300s. His father's name was Friele zum Gensfleisch, but Johannes took his mother's lastname. Very little is known about his life. Gutenberg may have had training as a goldsmith. This would have given him skill in metalworking. Goldsmiths sometimes stamped designs on metal, and this mayhave given Gutenberg the idea of printing with metal type.
Gutenberg moved to Strassburg (now Strasbourg, France) in about 1430. There he performed experiments in printing methods. In October 1448Gutenberg returned to Mainz. By 1450 his printing experiments were showing some signs of success. He entered into a partnership with Johann Fust, a wealthy businessman, and Peter Schöffer, Fust'sson-in-law.
Fust wanted to market Gutenberg's invention quickly and earn money. But Gutenberg was not willing to sell any products until he had perfected the process. This difference led to a break intheir partnership and Fust filed a lawsuit against Gutenberg. In 1455 Fust won ownership of Gutenberg's printing equipment. However, Gutenberg may have continued to be active as a printer into the early1460s. Gutenberg died in Mainz in 1468.

Gutenberg's Invention
At the time that Gutenberg began his work, printing was new to Europe. The Chinese were the first to develop a method of printingusing ink and paper. They carved wooden blocks with the image that they wanted to reproduce. They then coated the blocks with ink and pressed the paper to the block to make the reproduction. By the...