Laszlo Biro
Ladislao "Laszlo" Josef Biro formally patented the ballpoint pen; although, credit for the actual invention is arguably that of various earlier persons; most notably Galileo. Biro was a journalist from Hungary.
He invented the ball point pen in 1938. He had noticed that the ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free.
He tried using the same ink in a fountain pen but found that it would not flow into the nib, as it was too viscous.
Working with his brother Georg, a chemist, he developed a new tip consisting of a ball that was free to turn in a socket, and as it turned it would pick up ink from a cartridge and then roll to deposit it on the paper.
In 1943 the brothers moved to Argentina and on June 10 filed another patent, and formed Biro Pens of Argentina.
This new design was licensed by the British, who produced ball point pens for RAF aircrew, who found they worked much better than fountain pens at high altitude.
Ball point pens are still widely referred to as a biro in many countries, notably several European countries, Australia and New Zealand.
Also see: List of inventions named after people
Referenced By
Ball-point pen | Ball point | Ball point pen | Ballpoint pen | List of inventions named after people
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