Notes

Joan of Arc and Christopher Columbus changed the world. However, most people would not even know their names without an invention by a man named Johann Gutenberg. In the 1440s, he developed a more efficient way to print books. That may seem like a simple idea, but his invention spread knowledge around the world!

Long ago, only the most educated people knew how to read. Books were very expensive. The few books available had been printed by scribes who copied one page at a time, by hand, taking up to two years to finish a book. Later, books were printed using wooden blocks, a painfully laborious process. First, workers carved the words for one page into a block of wood. Then the carved words were coated with ink and pressed against paper to print the page. Each page had to be carved, inked, and pressed to make a book. After the carved block had been used many times, it wore out.

Johann Gutenberg, a curious man who came from a family of goldsmiths, invented a way to make separate metal letters. The letters replaced wood blocks. Printers placed the letters in any order and used them many times. Thousands of pages could be printed quickly. To make the letters, Gutenberg created a metal mixture that melted at low temperatures so it could be poured into molds. He also developed an ink that allowed the metal letters to print clearly. Lastly, he needed a device to make the impressions, so he modified a wine press.

In 1448, Gutenberg persuaded Johann Fust to invest in his printing shop. No one is sure what happened next. Gutenberg worked behind closed doors. Historians assume that he ran out of money, as he turned his shop over to Fust. Fust continued to work on the printing press. Soon, however, others copied the idea. By 1500, hundreds of printing shops had opened across Europe. As many as 40,000 different books had been printed. Soon books became so inexpensive that most families could afford at least one.

The first books were similar to the old hand-printed ones. That helped make them more acceptable to the public. For example, the books were printed on lined paper. They contained abbreviations for words that scribes once used to save time. Like the hand-printed books, the first printing-press books were on religious subjects. Soon, books came out on other topics, such as geology and history.

Gutenberg's printing press improved the flow of information across Europe. In fact, his press contributed to the Renaissance, a celebrated time of learning. How? As more and more books became available, more and more people learned to read. They were finally able to enjoy Greek literature. Scientists were able to share their discoveries with one another and build on each other's work. A geography book printed on a Gutenberg press inspired Christopher Columbus to explore. By the 1600s, all this sharing of knowledge led to the Scientific Revolution. How people viewed and understood their world changed forever.

The new presses also printed newspapers. Ordinary people began to debate the issues. Being able to read became a tremendous advantage, as it still is today.

Mass publishing had so great an impact that in 1997, the printing press was named the most important invention of the second millennium. The printing press was judged to be a more significant invention than the light bulb, the car, or the airplane!

Did Johann Gutenberg become a wealthy man? Sadly, not at all. For most of his life, he had to borrow money to support himself as he tinkered with ink and letters. He eventually received an "allowance" from the German government in recognition. It paid his bills and allowed him to travel, but it was not nearly equal to his accomplishment.