Johannes Gutenberg: Printing Press, Inventions, Facts
                     Johannes Gutenberg| 
Printing Press, 
Inventions, Facts
Introduction
German inventor Johannes 
Gutenberg developed a method of 
movable type and used it to create 
one of the Western world's first 
major printed books, the “Forty-Two-
Line” Bible.
Source: www.biography.com
Who Was 
Johannes 
Gutenberg?
Johannes Gutenberg started 
experimenting with printing by 1438. 
In 1450, Gutenberg obtained backing 
from the financier, Johann Fust, 
whose impatience and other factors 
led to Gutenberg's loss of his 
establishment to Fust several years 
later. 
Source: www.biography.com
Early Life
Born into a modest merchant family 
in Mainz, Germany, circa 1395, 
Johannes Gutenberg’s work as an 
inventor and printer would have a 
major impact on communication and 
learning worldwide. 
Source: www.biography.com
Family
He was the third son of Freile zum 
Gensfleisch and his second wife, Else 
Wirick zum Gutenberg, whose 
maiden name Johann later adopted. 
There is little recorded history of this 
early life, but local records indicate 
he apprenticed as a goldsmith while 
living in Mainz.
Source: www.biography.com
Experiments 
in Printing
When a craftsman revolt erupted in 
Mainz against the noble class in 
1428, Gutenberg’s family was exiled 
and settled in what is now 
Strasbourg, France, where his 
experiments with printing began. 
Source: www.biography.com
Financial 
Trouble
In 1448, Gutenberg moved back to 
Mainz and by 1450 was operating a 
print shop. He had borrowed 800 
guilders from local financier Johann 
Fust to purchase specific tools and 
equipment needed for his unique 
typography method. 
By December 1452, Gutenberg was 
heavily in debt and unable to pay 
Fust’s loan. 
Source: www.biography.com
Later Life 
In 1462, Mainz was sacked by 
Archbishop Adolph II in a dispute 
over control of the city and Fust and 
Gutenberg’s printing businesses 
were destroyed. 
Many of the city’s typographers fled 
to other parts of Germany and 
Europe, taking their techniques and 
technology with them. Gutenberg 
remained in Mainz, but once again 
fell into poverty. 
Source: www.biography.com
Later Life 
Cont. 
The Archbishop granted him the title 
of Hofmann (gentleman of the court) 
in 1465, which provided a salary and 
privileges for services rendered. 
Gutenberg carried on his printing 
activities for several more years, but 
little evidence exists of what he 
actually published because he didn’t 
put his name on any of his printings.
Source: www.biography.com
Death
Records of Gutenberg’s later years 
are as sketchy as his early life. Still 
living in Mainz, it is believed that he 
went blind in the last months of his 
life. 
He died on February 3, 1468, and 
was buried in the church of the 
Franciscan convent in the nearby 
town of Eltville, Germany.
Source: www.biography.com
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