Pull to refresh
Logo
Daily Brief
Following
Why Sign Up
Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gutenberg

Inventor of movable-type printing in Europe

Appears in 1 story

Stories

From 1-in-10 to 9-in-10: the 200-year transformation of human literacy

New Capabilities

Historical figure

In 1820, roughly 88% of humanity could not read. Today, roughly 87% can. This inversion—achieved across two centuries through compulsory schooling laws, cheap printing, and coordinated global campaigns—represents one of the largest capability expansions in human history. More than 5 billion people now possess a skill that fewer than 100 million held two centuries ago.

Updated Jan 22