Froben, Johann

Born circa 1460, in Hammelburg, Franco-nia; died Oct. 26, 1527, in Basel. Printer and publisher in Basel.

Born in Germany, Froben became a citizen of Basel in 1490. His work in Basel, a center of humanism, promoted the expansion of printing there. In 1514, Froben became closely associated with Erasmus of Rotterdam, most of whose works he published or republished. Froben published the Greek and Latin classics, works by humanist writers, and Erasmus’ scholarly critical edition of the New Testament (1516), which gave priority to the Greek text. In 1518, Froben republished T. More’s Utopia with the collaboration of More and of Erasmus. Froben’s work was continued by his son, Hieronymus Froben (1501–63), one of whose main publications was G. Agricola’s De re metallica. The publishing house founded by Froben remained in existence until 1587.