1400's
Johannes Gutenberg a goldsmith invented the printing press. This causes the price of books to decrease making literature more accessible. Before the printing press all writing was done my hand meaning they took time and cost money. The typeface used by Guttenberg was also one of the first typefaces called blackletter.
1470
Nicolas Jenson a french printer created Roman type. He was inspired by the text from ancient roman buildings. Roman was more legible than Blackletter. Jenson studied under Guttenburg in 1458.
1501
Aldus Manutius an Italian printer invents italics. Italics were much thinner meaning printers could fit more text onto the page. He also created small inexpensive books that allowed many to access texts.
1734
William Caslon a British type founder created the well know font Caslon. He used this type for a New Testament. The font is referred to 'Old Style' today.
1757
John Baskerville a British printer and type designer created Transitional Type. A type with sharp serifs and lots of contrast between thick and thin lines.
1816
William Caslon IV, great-grandson of William Caslon I. He is credited wit creating the first san serif font. The font was called Egyptian.
1957
Max Miedinger a Swiss designer created Helvetica. It is one of the most loved fonts and marked the return of minimalism. The creation of this font inspired many others.