–by Johann Gutenberg
Mainz, Germany: The printing—employing a movable type printing press—of an edition of the Vulgate (the early fifth century Latin version of the Torah and the New Testament) by the goldsmith Gutenberg, is heralded as the start of the Gutenberg Revolution (in the West).
The first known movable type was actually invented (as noted in other entries in this work) in China by Bi Sheng out of ceramic circa 1041–1048 CE. Metal movable type was first invented in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (c. 1230 CE). Gutenberg’s movable type was created from an alloy of lead, tin and alimony —the same components still used today in this genre production.