A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument that dispenses ink, usually in paste form, over a small rotating ball at its tip, and it has become the most widely used writing instrument in the world. The American inventor John J. Loud patented the first ballpoint design in 1888 as a tool for marking rough surfaces such as leather, but it proved too coarse for ordinary writing and was never commercially successful. A pen usable for everyday writing was developed decades later by the Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro, who filed a British patent in 1938 after seeking an ink that would dry quickly and resist smudging on paper.
Facts
Patent or First-Use Date YearAn earlier, commercially unviable ballpoint patent was issued to American inventor John J. Loud on 30 October 1888; 1938 is Laszlo Biro's British patent filing for the design that became commercially practical. SignificanceLaszlo Biro adapted the fast-drying ink used in newspaper printing to solve the smudging and clogging problems of earlier ballpoint designs, making the pen commercially practical. 1 FAQs
Why did the first ballpoint pen of 1888 fail when the Bíró pen later succeeded?
Loud's pen was too coarse for letter-writing; Bíró paired the ball with fast-drying newspaper-type ink.
John J. Loud patented the first ballpoint pen in 1888 to write on rough surfaces such as wood and coarse wrapping paper. His pen used a small rotating steel ball held in a socket. It could mark rough surfaces such as leather, but it proved too coarse for letter-writing, so it had no commercial use and the patent lapsed. László Bíró, a Hungarian newspaper editor, was frustrated by the time he lost filling fountain pens and cleaning up smudged pages. He noticed that newspaper ink dried quickly and left the paper smudge-free, and he decided to build a pen around the same type of ink. His brother György, a dentist with a knowledge of chemistry, helped develop thicker ink formulas for the new designs. Bíró filed for a British patent on 15 June 1938.
Connections
Associated With
Source László Bíró (Wikipedia)
Invented By
Source Ballpoint Pen (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Ballpoint Pen (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory > Origins, Biro patent-filing sentence
Biró filed for a British patent on 15 June 1938.
History > Origins, Biro motivation paragraph
frustrated by the amount of time that he wasted filling up fountain pens and cleaning up smudged pages, noticed that inks used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free
Invented By: John J. Loud, Infobox: inventor
John J. Loud
View the Source László Bíró (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Laszlo Biro, Wikipedia lead, paragraph 1Quote, Associated With: Laszlo Biro, Wikipedia lead, paragraph 1
patented the first commercially successful modern ballpoint pen
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