Stephen DayDied 22 Dec 1668 (born c. 1594).English locksmith who established the first printing press in England's North American colonies. In 1638, Rev. Jose Glover pursuaded Day to sail with him from England to British North America with a printing press to produce religious texts. Day's son Matthew was a printer's apprentice. Although Glover died en-route, the press was set up at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. The Days printed a broadside and an almanac in their first year. In 1639, it is believed that Stephen Day produced his first work, The Freeman's Oath. The next year, the first book to be printed in North America was 1,700 copies of the Bay Psalm Book. In 1649, Matthew died, and officials of Harvard College appointed Samuel Green to operate the Cambridge Press.« |
