Emely Barrios

1st Period

Johannes Gutenberg was born around 1395-1398 in Mainz, Germany. He was the third
child of Freile zum Gensfleisch, and his second wife Else Wirick Zum Gutenberg whose
name Johann adopted. Johannes was a goldsmith, businessman, and publisher before he invented
the printing press. Johannes Gutenberg started on the invention of the printing press around 1436
with replaceable/movable wooden (or) metal letters.
It was until later of 1438 that Johannes began having money problems for his experiment
so he began his first business with Andreas Dritzehn to help fund his experiments. It was
officially completed by 1440, and the way the printing press worked is that ink was rolled over
the top surfaces of the moveable hand-set block letters, that were held with a wooden form
pressed against the sheet of paper. It helped with faster development in science, the revolution of
production in books, and the spread of arts/religion through the transmission of texts.
In 1450, Johannes began his second arrangement and partnered up with a German
businessman named Johannes Fust. Fust lent Gutenberg money to start a printing business, and
build a large press. In September 30th 1452, Johannes Gutenberg created the Gutenberg Bible
with the help of the printing press. The printing press was accredited with printing the worlds
first book using moveable type and was one of the top printing projects with a 42 line bible.
Later on in 1456, Gutenberg was able to make more copies of the bible and make fortune
out of it before the partnership was set off. Fust was left with Gutenbergs equipment so
Gutenberg had to start all over again. It is said that Johannes also created the 36 line bible and
the famous Catholicon, a kind of encyclopedia. Reportedly, Gutenberg became blind in the last

months of his life. On February 3rd 1468, Gutenberg died in St. Victors parish in Mainz,
Germany where he was later buried in the church of the Franciscan convent in that town. In
1900, a museum in Mainz was created for Gutenberg with all his work and ideas.
Antonio Meucci was born on April 13 1808 in Florence, Italy. He was the eldest out of
nine children, and one of the only five surviving ones born from a civil servant named Amatis
Meucci and his wife Domenica Pepi. Antonio Meucci was an inventor, associate, and a well
friend. When Antonio was only 15, he joined Florence Academy of Fine Arts to study
mechanical and chemical engineering. He was the youngest student there but later decided to
dropout due to the lack of funds.
However, later he rejoined the Florence Academy while working as a government official
and later as a stage technician at the Teatro della Pargola. It was then in 1834 that Antonio
invented the first communication device. It was set-up to where you could communicate in the
stage all the way into the control room of the theater. The invention was based of the pipe
telephones that were used in ships.
Later in the 1830s he married this woman named Ester and moved to Cuba with his her
to help treat illnesses with electrical shocks. He realized that sounds were transmitted from the
copper wire and saw potential with it. He later moved to Staten Island in 1850 near New York
City, to help develop the technology. Meucci struggled to find financial banking, failed to master
in English, and got burned severely in an accident aboard a steamship.
Meucci was forced to make new communication systems because Ester had sold each of
his machines to a secondhand shop for only $6, where his models became more sophisticated. He

created a talking telegraph device to hear inarticulate voices more clearly. The new
sophisticated models were helpful for later purposes. On 18 October 1889 Meucci died and even
though he didnt succeed in gaining recognition for his invention in his lifetime, he did receive
five patents in other areas. After the 100th anniversary of his death, two books of Meucci were
published in Italy.
Both of these explained technology advancements made a big impact to society. They
both became really essential and became more sophisticated over time. The printing press and
the telephone were both created in order to help people out. They both started off with ideas and
took years to complete. The printing press and telephone both were really essential and helpful to
people. They both were ways to communicate with people, even long distance.
These printing press was made way before the telephone was created. Both of these
inventions are mostly still used, but in a more advanced way. Both Johannes Gutenberg and
Antonio Meucci were beneficial, if it werent for any of them we wouldnt have the printers or
iPhones we have now.

Work cited over Johannes Gutenberg;

"Johannes Gutenberg." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 07 Nov. 2016. Web.

02 Dec. 2016.

"Johannes Gutenberg - Printing Press." About.com Inventors. About.com, n.d. Web. 02

Dec. 2016.

"Johann Gutenberg." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Encyclopedia.com, n.d. Web. 02

Dec. 2016.

Work cited over Antonio Meucci;

"Home." Famous Scientists. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

"Antonio Meucci Biography." Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline. N.p., n.d.
Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

" Who Is Credited as Inventing the Telephone?

Gray, or

Was It Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha

Antonio Meucci?" Who Is Credited as Inventing the Telephone? Was It

Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha Gray, or Antonio Meucci? (Everyday Mysteries: Fun
Science Facts from the Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.