Text messages, emails, and digital documents may now reign supreme in our day-to-day lives, but that doesn’t mean they were always the way we communicated. The time when pens were made from reeds and bird feathers has passed, but the leap to our modern-day pen occurred relatively recently.
The invention of the modern ball point can be credited to two men, each with a distinct contribution. John Loud, an American lawyer and inventor, received the first patent for a ballpoint pen in 1888. Loud wanted a pen that could write on rough materials like wood, and he found the solution in a rotating steel ball. Loud’s pen worked but ended up being too rough to be used on paper, and the patent eventually lapsed.
THe other man, Hungarian-Argentinian journalist and inventor László Bíró noticed that the ink used for fountain pens was runny and dried slowly compared to the ink used in newspaper printing, which was viscose and dried quickly. To get ink that dried quickly but flowed easily, László turned to his brother Győrgy, a dentist and chemist. László received the patent in 1938, as World War II was starting, and fled to South America. After production started, the design interested the Royal Air Force, whose pilots were able to use the pens at high altitudes.
The popularity of the ballpoint pen skyrocketed after Milton Reynolds, an American entrepreneur, took a trip to Buenos Aires, and bought several ballpoint pens. After returing to America, he founded the Reynolds International Pen Company and made enough changes to the pen to avoid Bíró’s patent. Allowing for the mass production and wide-spread success of the ballpoint pen.
The modern pen has continued with new innovations and designs. From click pens to 100% recycled plastic and stylus that allow you to write on paper and seamlessly move to digital. The pen has made itself an indispensable part of our lives.
Want to ditch the fountain pen for something more practical? Check out our featured product, some best-selling pens. Call us to place your order at 306.249.4318. We are happy to address any questions you may have.
- Team MOBO
Information from bbc.com
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