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Johann Gutenberg, thought to be the father of modern printing, lived from about 1400 to 1467, where he died at Mainz. He was the son of a coin maker, which may have perhaps influenced him while working around those machines all day. In 1430, Gutenberg and his family migrated to Strasburg, because of political difficulties at the time. There he starting teaching students of his trades, including, gem polishing, making looking glasses, and the printing press.
Gutenberg perfected his printing press around the year 1450, this coming at great expenses. Seeing that he was in desperate need of money Gutenberg made friends with Johann First of Mainz. He needed him to fund Gutenberg's first printed book, The 42 line Bible. He finished the Bible in 1455. After finishing the Bible, all of the people that had loaned him money over the years to perfect this invention came for their pay back. Gutenberg spent the rest of his life in and out of court.
After he died he was buried in the Franciscan church, which no longer exists. A cloud of mystery hangs over the inventors life though. The only thing we truly know is, that for the most part of his existence he, his personality, the place of his invention, and particularly the part he personally took in the production of the printed works that have, come down to us from this period. However, there has been research that has thrown much light on the posted works connected with the name of Gutenberg, and has established more definitely the nature of his invention. Mainly from the examinations of Gutenberg's earliest work, Poem of the Last Judgment and The Calendar were in 1448. But like I said before, there is controversy over Gutenberg.
Some people believe that, the oldest dated printed book, known as, The Diamond Sultry, was produced in China in 868. It is also believed that the practice of this could have gone on for awhile before this. It is said that the Japanese and the Chinese regularly used wood blocks carved in relief to produce Buddhist charms as early as the fifth century. Almost six centuries later Europeans began block printing. The influence of this in European culture is not known. Nevertheless the literary world was changed with the invention of movable type and its application to a series of known practices which were integrated into a method of mass production.
The printing press had developed from the wine press. The printing press was growing. In three decades, printing spread across Europe where it became one of the means by which the Renaissance, the humanist re-birth of interest in learning and the classics, was transmitted from culture to culture. In time the printed book became a means of political revolution, it was used in many democratic revolutions in the eighteenth century.
Also in the history of the printing press, The Times of London, introduced the first steam-press. Other technological innovations, such as linotype was invented in 1884. The monotype machine was another machine invented in 1897. It helped increase the ease with which a page could be type-set. In conjunction, these new methods of mass production helped pave the way to the growth of mass reading.
This eventually led to things we use today such as newspapers, and magazines. This would change society forever. From the early beginnings of the Chinese, or Gutenberg, the World today has seen the printing press help mold it and shape it into the culture we have today. Gutenberg's invention should be classed with the greatest events in the history of the world.
It caused a revolution in the development of culture.
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Research essay sample on Johann Gutenberg And The Invention Of Printing Press
