László Bíró – The Genius Behind the Ballpoint Pen

Hey there, have you ever wondered about the story behind the humble ballpoint pen that we use every day? Well, let me tell you about the fascinating life of its inventor, László Bíró, a Hungarian genius who changed the way we write forever!

the world recently celebrated the 125th anniversary of one the Hungarian inventors, who changed the world as we know it. Born in Budapest on September 29, 1899, László Bíró was a man of many talents. He was not only an inventor but also a journalist, a painter, and even a hypnotist and a race car driver! Talk about a Renaissance man, right?

As a journalist, Bíró was frustrated with the limitations of fountain pens. They were messy, prone to leaks, and the ink took forever to dry. That’s when he had his “eureka” moment. While visiting a newspaper printing press, he noticed that the ink used in printing dried quickly and left no smudges. He thought, why not use this type of ink in a pen?

But there was a problem. The thick, quick-drying ink wouldn’t flow through a traditional pen nib. That’s when Bíró’s genius kicked in. He came up with the idea of using a tiny ball bearing at the tip of the pen to pick up the ink and roll it onto the paper. And thus, the ballpoint pen was born!

Bíró filed his first patent for the ballpoint pen in 1938 in Hungary. However, with World War II looming and the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, Bíró, who was Jewish, decided to flee to Argentina. There, he continued to perfect his invention with the help of his brother György, a chemist.

In 1943, Bíró received the Argentine patent for his pen, which he called the “Birome” (a combination of his name and the Spanish word for pen, “lapicero”). The Birome became an instant hit, especially with the British Royal Air Force, who loved how the pen worked flawlessly at high altitudes, unlike fountain pens.

Soon, the ballpoint pen took the world by storm. In many countries, it’s still called a “biro” or a “Biro pen” in honor of its inventor. And get this – in Argentina, Bíró’s birthday, September 29, is celebrated as Inventor’s Day!

But the ballpoint pen wasn’t Bíró’s only claim to fame. He also invented an automatic gearbox for cars in the 1930s, which caught the attention of General Motors. They paid him a monthly stipend just so he wouldn’t sell the invention to their competitors!

Sadly, Bíró passed away in Buenos Aires on October 24, 1985, at the age of 86. But his legacy lives on in every ballpoint pen we use today. So the next time you grab a pen to jot down a note or sign a document, remember the incredible story of László Bíró, the man who revolutionized writing with a tiny ball bearing and some quick-drying ink.

Image source: Országos Széchényi Könyvtár