On this day in 1455, The Gutenberg Bible was the first book ever printed.

If you have one or more Bibles in your home, take a moment to say thank you to Johann Gutenberg, who on this day in 1455 printed the world’s first book, the Bible. Gutenberg was a native of Mainz, Germany. He began experimenting with casting movable type in the 1440s. By about 1450 Gutenberg had perfected a technique that allowed him to produce enough type to print small grammar books and other short works. It was soon afterwards that he began work on the project to which his name would forever be linked—the Gutenberg Bible.

Gutenberg and his workmen produced some 160 to 180 copies of the Bible. Each Bible consisted of nearly 1,300 pages, measuring about 16 inches by 12 inches. (That’s a big book!) Gutenberg never made a profit from his invention or from publishing the Bible. In fact, he died penniless and owing money. Today one of his surviving Bibles is worth millions of dollars.

Gutenberg’s invention ushered in the print revolution. Information was now accessible to the general population. In the ensuing years, church leaders like William Tyndale worked to translate and print the Bible into the English language.

Because of the determination and creativity of men like Gutenberg, Tyndale, and others, we now have access to the Bible in any number of translations, with study notes, devotions, maps, charts, and other aids to help us understand God’s Word. The power of God’s Word is available in 500 different languages today and is available to more than 35 million people around the world.

Spend some time today celebrating Gutenberg’s great gift to us by reading your Bible!

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it (Isaiah 55:11).

To Do

Make it a personal goal to read the Bible daily. Ask a parent or your Sunday-school teacher for a reading plan. (Your Bible may have one in the back. Check it out!)

Also on this day . . .

Today is National Goof-Off Day.

Musical composers Stephen Sondheim (1930) and Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948) share this birthday.

1954—The first shopping mall opened in Southfield, Michigan.

1997—Tara Lipinski, at 14 years and 10 months, became the youngest women’s world figure skating champion.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.