Ballpoint Pen

Laszlo Biro, Argentina-Britain, patent of 1938. The journalist's pen that wrote at altitude and everywhere.

Overview

Hungarian journalist Biro, escaping Europe, patented the ball-and-quick-dry-ink pen in Paris 1938 and Argentina 1940 after pilots complained fountain pens leaked aloft. The RAF licensed Biro pens for navigators. Reynolds rushed a US copy in 1945, selling 10,000 the first day at Gimbels amid patent gaps. Biro's Argentine company and BIC's 1950 license, then the 1959 Bic Cristal at 29 cents, democratized writing. Half of all pens say biro in half the world.