published the complete editio princeps of Diodorus Siculus' Bibliotheca historica. Before he died, he planned to publish the first Bible in the Spanish language, for which Casiodoro de Reina paid 400 guilders in advance. But Oporinus died before the bible was able to go into print. Oporinus' mark Looking at title page or at the colophon of an Oporinus edition, the printer's device shows the mythological lyre player Arion of Lesbos, which is supported by a Dolphin on the sea. There are more variant forms of it, some are shown below. Personal life He was born to Hans Herbst (also spelled Herbster) and Barbara Lupfart. His father was a painter from Strasbourg and lost most of his work with the reformation. He was married four times, each time with a widow. The third wife was a sister of the publisher Johan Hervagius the younger (died 1564) and the fourth a sister of Basilius Amerbach. He died deeply in debt on the 7 July 1568 and all his possessions were confiscated by the authorities in order to pay his creditors. Theodor Zwinger was his nephew. He had an extensive library of 4000 books, which was auctioned. His manuscript collection and his extensive correspondence are preserved in the Basel University Library. References Further reading Harry Clark (1984), The Publication of the Koran in Latin: A Reformation Dilemma. The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol.15, No.1, (Spring 1984), pp. 3–12. Available via JSTOR Carlos Gilly (2001), Die Manuskripte in der Bibliothek des Johannes Oporinus: Verzeichnis der Manuskripte und Druckvorlagen aus dem Nachlass Oporins anhand des von Theodor Zwinger und Basilius Amerbach erstellten Inventariums. (Schriften der Universitätsbibliothek Basel 3). Schwabe, Basel, Martina Hartmann (2001), Humanismus und Kirchenkritik. Matthias Flacius Illyricus als Erforscher des Mittelalters. (Beiträge zur Geschichte und Quellenkunde des Mittelalters 19) Thorbecke, Stuttgart, Martina Hartmann, Arno Mentzel-Reuters (2005), Die Magdeburger Centurien und die Anfänge der quellenbezogenen Geschichtsforschung. Ausstellung. Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH), Munich. Andreas Jociscus (1569) Oratio De Ortv, Vita, Et Obitv Ioannis Oporini Basiliensis, Typographicoru[m] Germaniæ Principis. Rihelius, Strasbourg (digitized, also contains the Catalogvs Librorvm Per Ioannem Oporinium excusorum) Oliver K. Olson (2002) Matthias Flacius and the survival of Luther’s Reform. (Wolfenbütteler Abhandlungen zur Renaissanceforschung 20). Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, Martin Steinmann (1967) Johannes Oporinus. Ein Basler Buchdrucker um die Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts. (Basler Beiträge zur Geschichtswissenschaft 105). Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel. Martin Steinmann (1969), Aus dem Briefwechsel des Basler Druckers Johannes Oporinus.