By 1450, after a decade of hard work, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press became operational. The ingenious machine laid the ground for religious, scientific, and political revolutions that ushered humans into modernity. Yet, despite the press’s immediate success, Gutenberg never reaped the fruits of his labor.
Early Life and Financial Misadventures
Johannes Gutenberg’s life is shrouded in mystery and conjecture.He was born in Mainz, an affluent city in the lush German Rhineland, on the western side of the Holy Roman Empire. Estimates for his date of birth range from 1393 to 1406. His father was a “patrician,” an ancient Roman term for a hereditary aristocrat with significant political and economic power.
