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László József Bíró

Ballpoint Pen

• An Argentinian, Biro, while working as a journalist 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 as it was too thick. 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.
• Bíró patented the invention in Paris in 1938.