Johannes Gutenberg’s first printing press. (Courtesy of Public Domain)
A German goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg invented the first European movable type printing press in 1440. His invention drastically improved previous movable types, which helped start the Renaissance and the Reformation, allowing religion and revolutionary ideas to spread throughout Europe. His device was able to break many of history's most significant barriers, directly and indirectly.
More books were translated into different languages; people were more literate; education was more available; and beliefs, ideas, and religion expanded throughout Europe. As the invention contributed to the number of books, books contributed to knowledge, and knowledge contributes to history. Books have always been a part of history, and it records our greatest accomplishments.
"What the world is today, good and bad, it owes to Gutenberg. Everything can be traced to this source, but we are bound to bring him homage...for the bad that his colossal invention has brought about is overshadowed a thousand times by the good with which mankind has been favored."
-Mark Twain
A Painting Of Johannes Gutenberg (Courtesy of John Carroll University)
“And so it is to the printing press--to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news--that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent."
-John F. Kennedy