Robert Estienne

Robert I Estienne (1503 – 7 September 1559), known as Robertus Stephanus in Latin and sometimes referred to as Robert Stephens, was a 16th-century printer and classical scholar in Paris. He was the proprietor of the Estienne print shop after the death of his father Henri Estienne, the founder of the Estienne printing firm. Estienne published and republished many classical texts as well as Greek and Latin translations of the Bible. Known as "Printer to the King" in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek, Estienne's most prominent work was the Thesaurus linguae latinae which is considered to be the foundation of modern Latin lexicography. Additionally, he was the first to print the New Testament divided into standard numbered verses.

He was a former Catholic who became a Protestant late in his life. Many of his published Bibles included commentary which upset the Catholic theologians of the Sorbonne who sought to censor Estienne's work. Eventually, overcome by the prejudice of the Sorbonne, Estienne and his family fled to Geneva where he continued his printing uncensored, publishing many of the works of John Calvin. In 1556 he became a citizen of Geneva, where he would die on 7 September, 1559.

Of Estienne's four sons, two became accomplished printers, one of whom was Henri Estienne who continued the legacy of his grandfather Estienne's printing firm. Robert Estienne was one of the most successful printers in the Estienne family and one of the greatest scholars of the time. Along with other printers, Estienne contributed to the "Golden Age of French Typography".