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Innovation / Middle Ages

Johannes Gutenberg

1400 — 1468约翰内斯·谷登堡

German inventor and craftsman (c. 1393–1406 – 1468)

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Born1400
BirthplaceMainz
Fieldsinventor, typographer, engraver
01 / A LIFE IN CONTEXT

The story, in brief.

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg was a German inventor and craftsman who invented the movable-type printing press. Though movable type was already in use in East Asia, Gutenberg's invention of the printing press enabled a much faster rate of printing. The printing press later spread across the world, and led to an information revolution and the unprecedented mass-spread of literature throughout Europe. It had a profound impact on the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, and humanist movements.

Introduction from Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full biography ↗

02 / THROUGH THE YEARS

A life in milestones.

Selected records from Wikidata. Ages are approximate; “c.” marks uncertain dates. This is a starting point for exploration, not a complete life history.

This edition has life dates for Johannes Gutenberg; more sourced milestones are still to be added.

  1. 1400
    Life

    Born in Mainz

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  2. 1468~ age 68

Behind this profile

Sources retrieved 2026-11-01. Dates and milestones: Wikidata contributors, CC0 ↗. Biographical introduction: Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0. Ancient dates and traditional biographies may be disputed; consult the linked records.

Portrait: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original and attribution ↗. Display cropped and desaturated.