König

König, FRIEDRICH, the inventor of the steam-press, was born at Eisleben, 17th April 1774. He became a printer, and at the same time eagerly prosecuted scientific studies. Having devoted himself to the invention of means of printing by machinery, he applied in vain for the necessary pecuniary assistance in various quarters, his schemes being rejected as impracticable; but at last Thomas Bensley, a printer in London, came forward to his support, and a patent was obtained in 1810 for a press which printed like the hand-press by two flat plates. A second patent was obtained in 1811 for a cylinder-press, and others in 1813 and 1814 for improvements upon it. This improved machine was adopted in 1814 by the proprietors of the Times. In the later part of his life König was a partner in a company for making steam printing-presses at Oberzell, near Würzburg, in Bavaria. He died 17th January 1833. See PRINTING, and Goebel's monograph (Stutt. 1883; Fr. trans. Paris, 1885).