Which German goldsmith invented the movable-type printing press?

Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press in Europe. A German goldsmith and craftsman from Mainz, Gutenberg developed a practical system that combined reusable metal type, oil-based ink, and a press capable of producing large numbers of consistent pages.

His breakthrough was not the world’s first printing technology. Woodblock printing and forms of movable type had existed in East Asia centuries earlier. Gutenberg’s importance lies in adapting related ideas to fifteenth-century European conditions, including an alphabetic writing system and methods for casting durable individual letters in metal.

His most famous project was the Gutenberg Bible, printed in Mainz around 1454–1455. It is celebrated for its remarkably even typography and production quality. Gutenberg used a typeface modeled on the dense handwriting of contemporary scribes, helping the new technology appear familiar to readers.

Printing quickly transformed European society. Books became easier to reproduce, literacy expanded, and religious, scientific, and political ideas circulated far more widely. Gutenberg himself did not become wealthy: financial disputes with his backer Johann Fust contributed to the loss of his printing workshop.

The other options belong to different fields. Martin Luther was a reformer, Albrecht Dürer was a painter and printmaker, and Johannes Kepler was an astronomer.