The Ball Pen or Biro

Mr Laszlo Biro and the tip of the biro, or ball pen.

I’m sure many of us remember when we had to write using a fountain pen, or a pen which we had to dip in ink every few strokes. One person who got fed up with using the pen and ink was the Hungarian Laszlo Jozsef Biro who was a journalist and a proof-reader. Doing frequent annoying corrections with pen and ink was too much for him, and so he decided to invent something more practical. And in 1938 he came up with the idea of the ball pen, which many people started to call it the biro. We still refer to it as the biro in Malta and England. In the USA most people call it the ball pen, to refer to the tiny ball at the tip of each pen. In 1943, along with his brother Georg who was a pharmacist, Laszlo Biro went to Argentina and found a company that could financially help him produce millions of ball pens and biros. It was also advertised  that it can be used also under water. The British were fascinated by this invention and bought the rights and sold them to the BIC corporation, which now manufactures millions more, especially the popular BIC pens. This company could then supply their pens to the Royal Air Force, which they could us as they fly and write quick notes, much better than having to use a quill or stylus, with ink and an ink-jar, which as we all know, can easily spill and cause stains and difficult-to-remove ink spots, especially on our clothes. Thank you Mr Biro, even though I personally still use the fountain-pen !