Johannes Gutenberg
Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400–1468) was a German goldsmith and inventor from Mainz who developed the first movable-type printing system in Europe around 1440. His invention combined oil-based inks, a screw press adapted from wine and olive oil presses, and individually cast metal type letters that could be rearranged to print any text. His masterwork, the Gutenberg Bible (c. 1455), produced approximately 180 copies—more than a scriptorium could produce in a lifetime. Gutenberg paradoxically died in relative poverty, having lost control of his printing works to his financier Johann Fust in a legal dispute. His invention nonetheless transformed European and eventually global civilisation, making the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and mass literacy structurally possible.
- Lived: 1400 CE – 1468 CE
- Nationality: german
- Roles: inventor, craftsman
