Although the history of print in certain societies dates back to many centuries, the first attempts at printing books using modern technologies began in Europe. … With the Industrial Revolution, the print industry also grew. The first products of the press were restricted to an audience of literate elites. It was only in the mid 19 century, with further development in technologies, transportation and literacy that newspapers began to reach out to a mass audience.
The lines left out of the passage name the person who first developed the modern printing technique. Who was he?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Johann Gutenberg
Option (1) William Caxton — Incorrect. William Caxton was an English printer who set up the first press in England in 1476. He used the new technique but did not develop it.
Option (2) Aldus Manutius — Incorrect. Aldus Manutius was a printer in Venice, known for small and cheap books. He worked some fifty years after the technique was first developed.
Option (3) Benedict Anderson — Incorrect. Benedict Anderson is the scholar who argued that print helped the growth of nationalism. He called the nation an imagined community and had no part in inventing printing.
Option (4) Johann Gutenberg — Correct. Johann Gutenberg first developed the modern printing technique in Europe in 1440. His work began the printing press, the first modern mass media institution.
NCERT (2026-27): “7.1 The Beginnings of Modern Mass Media |