Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes in his workshop

I created the printing press, that was my cause. I couldn’t pay my fine, and I wouldn’t break the laws. I lost my print-shop so it seems, but Fust and his son finished my dreams. Do you know who I am?

I’m Johannes Gutenberg, and I created the printing press, which mass produced books, so people wouldn't have to write them by hand.

I invented the printing press, which makes books using a machine, instead of having people write them by hand. If people wrote them by hand, it would take a couple of years to finish a book, so my invention made it possible for books to be created more quickly. An average 200 page book could be finished in about 10 months. I used a heavy gothic style print, so nobody would suspect that it was made my a machine.

I was born in Mainz Germany, in 1398. In 1450, I borrowed money from a wealthy merchant named Johann Fust so I could make my shop. In 1455, I finished printing my first book, the 1,282 page Latin Bible. It was also in 1455 that I couldn’t pay Fust back his money, and I lost my printing shop. In 1457, Fust sued me, and took control over the workshop. Unfortunately, I died in 1468.

I am a genius, because I created a way to mass produce books. I am irresponsible, because I wasn’t able to pay back Fust.