William Nuthead

(? - 1695) Nuthead established the first printing press in English America south of Massachusetts at St. Mary's City in 1684 or 1685. Not much is known of his early life until he arrived in Virginia in 1682. Denied the opportunity to pursue his profession there, he came to Maryland.

The earliest extant example of his work is a bill dated August 31, 1685, and one of his most important publications was a broadside (dated August 1689) that defended the Protestant overthrow of Lord Baltimore's government the same month. He died about the time the capital moved from St. Mary's City to Annapolis, and his wife Dinah followed the government to the banks of the Severn River and continued to operate a printing shop for many years. Four pieces of printing type, dating from Nuthead's era, have been excavated along Aldermanbury Street in St. Mary's City.