Post History

Here's the best answer I've come up with: Biblical literalism originates with Luther's "sola scriptura" doctrine. Others may have tightened what parts they believe are factual vs. which are simply inspirational; as I mentioned in a comment, no one takes the 23rd Psalm as a presentation of facts, so it's a matter of degree. 

Luther's key point was that the Bible is not merely inspired by God, but authorized in every detail. He said of the Bible, "The Holy Spirit is the author of this book" and "Let the man who would hear God speak read holy scripture." The Catholic concept of the Bible, as I understand it, is that its text is divinely inspired, but it isn't the literal "word of God."

In the "sola scriptura" view, the original texts of the Bible may contain figurative language, to be recognized as such by reason, but it cannot contain any errors of doctrine or fact. I don't know whether the Catholic Church allows the possibility of factual errors in the Bible, but it's less insistent on Biblical infallibility on issues of fact, as opposed to doctrine. (For example, "Methuselah lived over 900 years" is a factual, not a doctrinal, assertion.) 

Conclusion: Biblical literalism is an elaboration of "sola scriptura," and as such traces its origin to Luther.