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. 1400 – 1468; died at about 68. Alive at the same time as Christopher Columbus, Joan of Arc, Jan Hus, François Villon, and Jan van Eyck. Wiki link