BÍRÓ, László József

At the beginning of his varied life, B. took up the study of medicine at the University of Budapest after graduation, but did not complete it. Afterwards, he was engaged in hypnosis for a while, and also worked as a clerk. He also tried his hand in car racing, which motivated him to develop a new type of gear shift. He was also a successful painter.
He came across the idea of inventing a ballpoint pen during his work as a journalist. He was the publisher of the newspaper Hongrie-Magyarország-Hungary, which primarily published articles on art. After this newspaper fell through, he worked on the magazine Előre (Forward). While working as a publisher, he was often annoyed by the awkwardness of filling fountain pens. The continuous rotating motion of the cylinders in printing gave him the idea that a tube, filled with ink, would be able to transfer an even and continuous flow of ink to paper with the aid of a cylinder or ball.
Five years passed between the idea itself and the universal success of the inexpensive pen. Not all of his experiments were conducted in Hungary. For his safety and the safety of his family, he emigrated to Paris in 1939 and from there to Argentina. As every invention, the invention of the ballpoint pen also has its history, and as the majority of achievements of the 20th century, it likewise needed the support of numerous experts and patrons.
After 1888, several attempts were made to manufacture a pen based on the principle of the ballpoint pen. In many countries, similar patents were registered, yet none of these pens were suitable for lasting use. B.'s first patent, which he obtained in Hungary, dates back to 1938.
To manufacture a usable ballpoint pen, he needed precisely manufactured balls, which B. ordered from Argentina from the Swedish company SKF. In the experiments to obtain an ink of appropriate density, B. was at first assisted by his brother, György, a chemist, but later on B. handed this task over to the Goy and Kovalszky company from Budapest. Andor Goy also had an important role in the development of a ballpoint pen that could be manufactured in large numbers. His name was immortalised in the 1950s with the Go-pen, which was well-known in Hungary.
From 1940 onwards, B. conducted independent experiments in Argentina, where he received a patent for his ballpoint pen on 10th June 1943. The first ballpoint pens were available in Argentina after 1945. The number of patents that B. received for his invention in different countries amounts to approximately 100. In Argentina, their inventor has been remembered since his death with a holiday, 29th September.