A chronology of media events
Th is Chronology is drawn from many sources, but
our best thanks go to Patrick Robertson whose
Th e New Shell Book of Firsts (Headline, 1994), a
remarkable piece of historical detective work, has
been immensely helpful. UK is used in a general-
ized sense as a composite reference to England,
Britain and the United Kingdom.
AD 105 Paper produced from pulp; invention
attributed to Ts’ai Lun, China.
AD 704 First printed book, the Dharani Sutra,
created in Korea from woodblocks on a scroll,
and discovered in the foundations of the Pulguk
Sa pagoda in Kyongju, South Korea, October
1966.
1174 First evidence of woodblock printing in
Europe, by Benedictine monks at Engelberg,
Switzerland, used to print capital letters in illu-
minated manuscripts.
1234 Compendium of Rites and Rituals, fi rst book
printed using movable type comprising 50 chap-
ters, 28 copies of which were published in Korea.
Th e type was made using a sand-moulding tech-
nique developed in 1102 for casting coins.
1451 Donatis Latin Grammar, two leaves of a
27-line publication, the fi rst evidence of the use
of movable type in Europe, possibly the same
type as that used by John of Gutenberg in his
42-line Bible believed to have been printed at
Mainz between 1451 and 1454, 48 copies of which
survive, 36 printed on paper, 12 on vellum.
1454 Gutenberg prints the fi rst calendar.
1461 Albrecht Pfi ster of Bamberg publishes the
first books in the vernacular: Ulrich Boner’s
Edelstein and Johann von Tepl’s Ackermann aus
Böhmen.
1474 In Bruges, the Englishman William Caxton
publishes Th e Recuyell of the Histories of Troye,
a translation from original French text. Caxton
moved to London where he printed in 1477 Th e
Dictes and Sayengis of the Philosophres, a work
of 74 leaves ‘drawn out of frensche into our
Englisshe tonge’ by Anthony Earl Rivers.
1475 Jodocus Pfl anzmann of Augsburg prints the
fi rst illustrated Bible.
1484 Caxton prints Morte D’Arthur.
1494 John Tate of Stevenage is the fi rst to manu-
facture paper in England. Tate produced the
fi rst-known watermark in the UK – a star and
circle.
1513 Nicolo Machiavelli’s Th e Prince published.
1517 Martin Luther nails his 95 Th eses, protesting
against the sale of indulgences, on the church
door at Wittenberg. Th e printing and distribu-
tion of his works ignites the Reformation, and
the division of Europe between Roman Catholic
and Protestant faiths.
1526 William Tyndale’s translation of the New
Testament into English is published by Peter
Schoeff er in Worms, Germany.
1527 Leipzig: printer Hanz Hergot executed
for twice publishing On the New Direction of
Christian Life, a pamphlet advocating common
ownership of land and goods.
1536 Myles Coverdale’s complete translation of
the Bible into English published, probably in
Cologne. Th is was printed in London by James
Nicholson the following year.
1559 Roman Catholic church promulgates the
Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a list of prohib-
ited books; and in 1571 the Index Expurgatoris, of
books permitted after censorship.
1588 Dr Timothy Bright introduces the first
recorded system of shorthand. His system
appeared under the title Characterie; the art of
short, swift, and secret writing.
1608 Th e civil authorities of Norwich open the
first municipal public library, chiefly for ‘the
use of preachers’. In 1656 Chetham’s Library in
Manchester became the fi rst to employ a librar-
ian. Chetham’s was open to all. As late as 1849
it remained the only substantial collection of
books fully accessible to the public. Manchester
also took the lead with the lending of books. In
1852 the Manchester Free Library instituted a
lending system, issuing over 70,000 books in its
fi rst year. Th is followed the Public Libraries Act
of 1850.
1611 Issue in the UK of the Authorized Version