# Aldus Manutius

> The man who made books portable. In late 15th-century Venice, Aldus Manutius shrunk the codex into something you could slip into a pocket, invented italic type, and standardized the semicolon — turning reading from a stationary ritual into a mobile act.

*Italian printer and humanist (1449-1515)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/aldus-manutius

## Identity
- **Country:** Italy
- **Born:** 1449
- **Died:** 1515-02-06
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Manutius studied in Rome to become a humanist scholar, tutored the young lords of Carpi, and published early works for his pupils before settling in Venice in his late thirties or early forties. There he co-founded the Aldine Press with Andrea Torresano, driven by a conviction that Greek texts — Aristotle, Aristophanes — should be read in their original form, untouched by translation. He commissioned typefaces in Greek and Latin that mimicked humanist handwriting, the first known precursors of italic, and began printing rare manuscripts no one else would touch. His small portable enchiridia revolutionized personal reading and became the ancestor of the modern paperback. The press's reputation for accuracy drew Erasmus, who sought Manutius out to publish his translations of Iphigenia in Aulis. Competitors across Italy quickly copied his innovations despite his efforts to stop them. He died in Venice on 6 February 1515, having spent the latter part of his life disseminating texts he believed worth saving.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 54.1 / 100
- **Momentum:** 0.6 / 100  (trend: STABLE)
- **Historical depth:** 23.1 / 100
- **Now attention:** 2.0 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 60.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 50.0 / 100

## Topics
#Designers, #Designer, #Medieval Era

## Sources
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213220)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Aldus%20Manutius)
- [Альд Мануцый](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B4_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%86%D1%8B%D0%B9)
- [Алдо Мануцио](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B4%D0%BE_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BE)
- [Aldus Manutius](https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Aldo Manuzio](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Manuzio)
- [Aldus Manutius](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Aldus Manutius](https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Aldus Manutius](https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Aldus Manutius](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Άλδος Μανούτιος](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%86%CE%BB%CE%B4%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%9C%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%8D%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82)
- [Aldo Manuzio](https://eml.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Manuzio)
- [Aldo Manuzio](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Manuzio)
- [Aldo Manucio](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Manucio)
- [Aldo Manuzio](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Manuzio)
- [الدوس منوتیوس](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B3_%D9%85%D9%86%D9%88%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%88%D8%B3)
- [Aldus Manutius](https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Alde Manuce](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alde_Manuce)
- [Aldo Manuzio](https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Manuzio)
- [אלדו מנוציו](https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%95_%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%95)
- [Aldo Manuzio](https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Manuzio)
- [Aldus Manutius](https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Ալդուս Մանուցիուս](https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D4%B1%D5%AC%D5%A4%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%BD_%D5%84%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%B8%D6%82%D6%81%D5%AB%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%BD)
- [Aldus Manutius](https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aldus_Manutius)
- [Wikiquote](https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aldo_Manuzio)
- [ألدو مانوتسيو](https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A3%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88_%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%88)
- [الدو مانوتسيو](https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88_%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%88)

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