Johann Gutenberg      (1398-1468)

Historian:

Johann Gutenberg is a special person. You might ask questions like what did he accomplish? Where and when he lived? How has this person impacted the world and life today? Well I can answer all those questions.

What did he accomplish: Gutenberg was famous for his bible, the Gutenberg bible. And has been claimed for his high aesthetic quality. He was the first European to use the Moveable Type. He also invented the use of oil based ink, and the use of wooden printing press.

Where and when did he live: He was born in the German city of Mainz. His life lasted about 70 years. Almost all his life is a mystery. Johann was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer and publisher who taught printing to Europe. Early in his life, the city of Mainz there was an uprising (in 1411) and many families were forced to leave. Gutenberg's family was one of the families that had to leave.  In his later life,  Gutenberg was exiled when there was a conflict, in 1462. Even though he was an old man he moved to Eltville. 1465 of January, Johann's achievements were found, and given the title Hoffman by Von Nassau.

Interesting Facts: In about 1439, Gutenberg was involved in making polished mirrors. The church and cemetery Gutenberg was buried in was later destroyed, furthermore, his grave is gone. Nothing was none about Gutenberg for a fifteen years, but in March 1434, a letter had indicated that he was living in the city of Strasbourg, with some relatives. 

How did he impact the world: Hadrianus Junius of Holland said that the idea of moveable type came from Johann. hard to believe but he was very unsuccessful until the printing press, which spread pretty quickly. There is no evidence that he printed anything.

Journalist~  Johann Gutenberg lived from about 1398 and died in about 1468. He grew up in the German city of Mainz. When he became older he moved to another city to Eltville. Johann Gutenberg introduced printing to Europe, was the first European to use the moveable type, and made his own bible, the Gutenberg Bible . But one problem was, he had no idea of the impact he had because no one cared for the Printing Press. Apart from making the Printing Press, no one really payed much attention to it until about 30 years after his death, people started to realize it. Many people in the world didn't know who Johann Gutenberg was. But after he died he began coming famous. When he was living no one really cared, even when he came up with the Printing Press. 

Johann Gutenberg once said to Leonardo Da Vinci "The Printing Press in one of the greatest from my times."

People began to appreciate Gutenberg's work because of his great invention. They finally realized copying took to long so they started to use the Press. Then they thought: Hey, this is easier! Instead of copying the whole writing, the invention made life back then easier. And people in The world wouldn't have, maybe ever, thought about the copy machine if Gutenberg hadn't came up with the Printing Press.

Gutenberg really did change the world back when he lived, even though people didn't realize it.         

(The Gutenberg Bible)