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Dates: 1420 - 1492 (Dates are approximate. ) 

William Caxton was born in Kent and spent the beginning of his life in London and Bruges as a merchant. Around 1470, he went into the service of Margaret, duchess of Burgundy, where he developed an interest in translating and printing. He set up the first English press at Westminister, producing over one hundred books before he died, including The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Confession Amantis by John Gower and Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory. The introduction of the printing press in England and standardization of the English language that resulted makes Caxton one of the most important figures in English literary history. TLM