His Life
Growing Up
Johannes Gutenberg was born in Mainz, Germany in the year of 1398. Mainz is located close to the well known city of Frankfurt, Germany. Gutenberg had two older siblings who were from his father, Freile zum Gensfleisch, and his first wife.When his father remarried, Gutenberg was his father's third child and the first child of his mother, Else Wirick zum Gutenberg. When Johannes was born, he was born as Johannes zum Gensfleisch, but went on to take the last name of his birth mother. The skill of being a goldsmith was passed down by his father who was exceptionally wealthy. There is no other information on his education or studies.
Around the year of 1428, Johannes' family was banished from Mainz. This was due to a rebellion started that the family was involved in. The rebellion was started because many people did not like the power the noble class had over the town of Mainz. Johannes and his family moved to Strassburg and lived there until he was 46 years of age.