by James Robinson

Created on: February 09, 2009

Almost 550 years ago he gave us one of the world's greatest technological inventions the printing press. His accomplishment heralded a new age of widespread literacy and communication, revolutionizing the proliferation and distribution of the written word and thus leading to the business of publishing. The unique elements of his production process remained little changed until the twentieth century.

Johannes Gensfleish, son of the General Accountant of the City of Mainz, Germany, was born towards the end of the fourteenth century, the exact year is uncertain. He is better known to us by the name Gutenberg, the original source of that name has not been discovered, one opinion is that it was his mother's family name that he adopted to prevent it passing into oblivion, since his mother was the last of her line. But it is also thought that it may have been used by earlier members of Gensfleish family, after the name of a house they owned and occupied around 1427, Mainz families were often named after houses they owned.

Very little factual information exists on his life or activities, he has been called "a shadowy figure in the pages of history". There is no biography of him from his own times and later biographies are based mainly on historical documents that make reference to him in connection with professional or legal matters. It is known that he was a silversmith and/or a goldsmith, had acquired metal-working skills and that he moved from Mainz to Strasborg about 1428 due too disputes between the city's rulers and the craftsmen's guilds of which he was a member.

He was involved in a series of business ventures in Strasborg, including gem cutting and the production of mirrors, and possibly as an instructor in those crafts. By 1448 he had returned to Mainz and continued there in business activities connected with his work in the development of the printing press that he had apparently been engaged in for several years. From evidence in court documents and records of purchases from tradesmen, he had probably commenced this work by 1436 and his purchases of lead in 1438 indicate he had been casting type, an important element of his invention. It is believed by some scholars that he may also have developed or played an important role in the development of the copper engraving process that made its appearance in the mid fourteen hundreds in Germany.

Prior to the use of the printing press, the production of written texts and documents was the work of groups of calligraphers

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