History Lesson: Ballpoint Pens

post by Michelle Griep

Book Available at Amazon

Everyone's got their favorite writing utensil, and I'm not talking MacBook Air. I mean pens. My fave is a big bad boy Pilot G2 Pen. Writes like a dream. But I got to thinking . . . where the heck did this little gem come from? What's the history? When did we set down our quills and ink and pick up a ballpoint?

Pay attention, class, because today you're going to be educated.

John Loud, an American leather tanner, patented the original ballpoint in 1888. But he never did get around to developing it after he received his patent. And most of those who came after him failed at it too because they used ink that was too thin, which made for splotchy writing and stained shirt cuffs.

But then along came László Bíró, who worked with his brother György. They gave thicker ink a whirl, like the kind used in newspaper presses. Bingo! They had a winner. Yeah, it still left some blobby's but nothing as drastic as the previous disasters.

This all took awhile to get to market, though, because of one teensy-weensy problem . . . Nazis. The Bíró's had to run off to Argentina in 1943 to really kick production into gear. Later that year, the British Air Force needed a pen that could work at high altitudes and they ordered 30,000. After that, voila. Ballpoint pen fame.

In 1946, a ballpoint pen sold for about $10 (which is about $100 in today's market). Good old-fashioned competition drove down that price so that by 1959 you could buy one for 19 cents. 

And that's your history lesson in a nutshell. Interested in more detail? Snatch up the book over at Amazon.