Friedrich Koenig
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"In 1814 The Times in London was for the first time printed by automatic, steam powered presses built by the German inventors Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Friedrich Bauer, signaling the begin of making newspapers available to a mass audience."--Sholem Stein |
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Friedrich Gottlob Koenig (April 17, 1774 in Eisleben – January 17, 1833) was a German inventor best-known for his high-speed printing press, which he built together with watchmaker Andreas Friedrich Bauer.
He moved to London in 1804 and in 1810 was granted a patent on his press, which produced its first trial run in April 1812. The machine was set up in their workshop, and invitations sent out to potential customers, notably John Walter of The Times. Amidst much secrecy, for fear of upsetting the existing pressmen, trials were carried out with great success. The first issue of The Times printed with the new presses was published on November 29, 1814.
In 1817 Koenig returned to Germany. After consideration he chose an abandoned monastery in Würzburg for the premises of the factory. The firm was called Koenig & Bauer.
