Johannes Gutenberg, or his full name Johannes Gensfleisch
zur Laden zum Gutenberg, was a German blacksmith and inventor and is the man
who led Europe with his invention of the printing press. His invention proved
to be superior and far more advanced than the work of other printing presses in
the past. Mechanical movable type was not around or had been thought of before
Gutenberg had begun using his innovative ideas and turning them into reality.
The printing press played a vital part in history and without Gutenberg and his
ideas the world would not be what it is today. The creation of the printing
press is regarded as the most important event in the modern era. It gave a
chance for ordinary people to be able to read and to have knowledge. Before
this only the churches would get prints and books. This gave power to the
masses and quickly spread all around the world. His work started the printing
revolution and was also very important in the making of the Renaissance,
Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment and the scientific revolution.
Gutenberg was born some time in 1398 and was born in the
German city of Mainz and was the youngest son of the high-class trader and
merchant, Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden. His second wife was the daughter of a
shopkeeper in the town he lived in. It is believed he was baptised somewhere
around where he was born. There is not a lot of information regarding
Gutenberg's early life, and most of it is a mystery. He is mostly known for
things he did later in life and when he used his innovative ideas to help push
the future forward.
Gutenberg had already created certain inventions for
printing, and it was the combination of all these that he was able to create
the mechanical movable-type printing press. By doing this it allowed the mass
production of printed books and was available to both readers and printers. The
way he created type was to create a type metal alloy which consisted of lead,
tin and antimony which had a low melting point which made the alloy more
durable. He used a mixture of different mechanisms and tools from many
different areas and put it all into one machine, which made it easier,
effective and much more affordable. The first model that he created was in
Strasbourg and was around the year of 1440.
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| A replica of the printing press |
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| The Gutenberg Bible |
Movable type was a big improvement on the older, traditional
techniques that were used to create documents and manuscripts. At the time
handwritten techniques were still being used. Mechanical movable type
revolutionised European book-creating. Gutenberg changed the world for the
better as his invention spread rapidly across the globe. The way he did it was
by using wooden letters or characters and later turned them into metal, then
formed an oil-based ink which was then used on the metal characters in the
wooden printing press. With this innovative and brand new creation, 42 entire lines
could be produced simultaneously, which hugely decreased the labour needed to
work the machine, thus making this invention much easier and practical. Gutenberg’s
most prominent book was a book called the Gutenberg Bible, and due to the high
value and low price of it, almost anyone could buy one. This led to a massive
rise in movable type and many people found out about Gutenberg through his
book, which were only 42 lines.
In 1468, the great inventor Gutenberg died, and the most
unfortunate aspect of history is that he was never appreciated in his own time,
but was only recognised as a mastermind after he died. The story is quite
tragic, as no one really believed in his inventions and he died thinking
nothing had changed. He died in his home
city, Mainz, and was buried in a church that was later knocked down and
replaced with a newer church, which was also knocked down. He may have received
no recognition in his own time, but history regards Gutenberg as one of the
most influential creators of all time.
