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Johannes Gutenberg

Type Figure Region Holy Roman Empire Time c. 1400–1468 Also known as Johannes Gutenberg、Johannes Gensfleisch、约翰内斯·根斯弗莱什

Craftsman and inventor of Mainz in the Holy Roman Empire (c. 1400–1468), famed for inventing Western movable-type printing around the 1450s.

Timeline

  1. c. 1400–1434Mainz · Rhine regionGutenberg was born in Mainz to a noble family; his father Friele Gensfleisch was a merchant of noble birth. He received early training as a goldsmith, mastering metal casting and precision work. Political strife in Mainz forced his family into exile for a time, and Gutenberg moved about the Rhine region plying his trade, laying the groundwork for applying metallurgical skills to his printing invention.
  2. c. 1434–1448Strasbourg · AlsaceWhile residing in Strasbourg, Gutenberg secretly developed movable-type printing technology. Surviving court documents from 1439 show a partnership dispute with business associates involving a 'secret craft,' which scholars widely regard as early experiments toward printing. He used goldsmith techniques to cast reusable lead-antimony-tin alloy type and explored oil-based ink formulas suitable for mass printing.
  3. 1451–1456Mainz · Rhine regionAfter returning to Mainz in 1448, Gutenberg borrowed from financier Johannes Fust to establish a printing workshop. From about 1452 he printed the Forty-two-line Bible (the Gutenberg Bible) on a movable-type press, completing it around 1455 with some 180 copies—the first book mass-produced with movable type in Western history. That same year, however, Fust sued for debt default; the court ruled against Gutenberg, forcing him to hand over his printing equipment and Bible stock to Fust and his son-in-law Peter Schöffer, costing Gutenberg the core assets of his printing enterprise.
  4. 1457–1468Mainz · Rhine regionAfter losing his main workshop, Gutenberg continued a small printing business in Mainz and in 1465 was granted the title of court retainer by Archbishop Adolf II of Mainz, receiving some honor and support in his later years. He died in February 1468; after his death, movable-type printing spread rapidly across Europe, with over 200 printing shops established in major European cities by the end of the 15th century, becoming one of the most important media for advancing the Renaissance, the Reformation, and modern science.

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