BALLPOINT PENS

Historical overview:

Even long time ago several ideas had cropped up on how to simplify and decrease the cost of the unwieldy fountain pen.

In 1910, Michael Baura from Munich obtained the earliest ballpoint pen patent for his "writing instrument with a rolling tip". However, the inventors at that time were not able to come up with a solution of the main problem, namely producing an appropriate ink.

It was only in 1938 that the Hungarian Biró succeeded in manufacturing a suitable oil-based paste and register a patent for the ballpoint pen we know today.

In 1946, the ballpoint pen set off on its victory tour around the world from South America, where Biró had emigrated for political reasons. Today, far more than a billion ballpoint pens are manufactured each year.