dec 28, 1537 - The Ordonnance de Montpellier, establishing the first system in Europe for all writers to submit copies of their printed work to the government for review and maintenance in a library, is signed into law by King François I of France. The law provides that a book cannot be legally sold until a copy has been deposited in the royal library
Added to timeline:
Date:
dec 28, 1537
Now
~ 488 years ago