William Caxton
| William Caxton | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | c. 1422 |
| Died | c. 1491 |
| Resting place | St. Margaret's, Westminster |
| Occupation | merchant, diplomat, writer, printer |
| Period | Late Plantagenet, Early English Renaissance |
| Notable work |
Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye |
Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye
Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres
William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1491) was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. He is thought to be the first Englishman to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and was the first English retailer of printed books.
His parentage and date of birth are both not known for certain, but he may have been born between 1415 and 1424, in the Weald of Kent, perhaps in Hadlow or Tenterden. In 1438 he was apprenticed to Robert Large, a wealthy London mercer. Little else is known of his early life.
In Bruges by 1450 and settled there by 1453, Caxton eventually became successful in business and governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London. During his business travels, he observed the new printing industry in Cologne which led him to start a printing press in Bruges, in collaboration with Colard Mansion. The first printed book in English, Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, was produced there in 1473.
Caxton set up a press at Westminster in 1476. The first book known to have been produced there was an edition of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. He printed perhaps the earliest verses of the Bible to be printed in English, as well as chivalric romances, classical works and English and Roman histories. He translated into English and edited many of the works himself. He is credited with the first English translation of Aesop's Fables, in 1484. The rushed publishing schedule and his inadequacies as a translator led both to wholesale transfers of French words into English and to misunderstandings. Caxton is credited with helping to standardise the various dialects of English through his printed works. In 2002, Caxton was named among the 100 Greatest Britons in a BBC poll.
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