Johannes Gutenberg
(1400?-1468), German printer and pioneer in the use of movable type, sometimes
identified as the first European to print with hand-set type cast in molds
(see Printing).
Detailed records of Gutenberg's life and work are scant;
his name does not appear on any of the works attributed to him. He was born
around the year 1400, perhaps as early as 1394, probably in Mainz, and trained
as a goldsmith. His family later settled in Strasbourg. In 1438 Gutenberg
entered into a partnership with Andreas Dritzehn to conduct experiments in
printing. Returning to Mainz in about 1450, Gutenberg formed another
partnership, with the German merchant and moneylender Johann Fust, and set up a
press on which he probably started printing the large Latin Bible associated
with his name, as well as some smaller books and leaflets. The Bible, known
variously as the Gutenberg Bible, Mazarin Bible, or 42-Line Bible, was completed
sometime between 1450 and 1456. German printer Peter Schöffer, Fust's son-in-law
and Gutenberg's apprentice, may have helped to print the work.
Fust's demands for repayment of the money he had invested
in the enterprise led to a lawsuit in 1455, and Gutenberg subsequently
surrendered his share of the firm. Following his break with Fust, Gutenberg
continued printing, either at Mainz or in the nearby town of Eltvile. In 1462 he
was exiled from Mainz during the sack of that city, but later returned. In 1465
the German statesman Adolph II, archbishop of Mainz and elector of Nassau,
became Gutenberg's patron, presumably in recognition of his achievement.
Gutenberg died on February 3, 1468, in his native city, where a museum
re-creating his press and workshop is now maintained.
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