William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1491) was an English
merchant, diplomat, writer, and
printer. He is thought to be the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a
printing press into
England, which he did in 1476. He was also the first English
retailer of printed
books; his
London contemporaries in the trade were all Flemish, German, or French. In 2002, he was named among the
100 Greatest Britons in a BBC poll.